MMA
by AuggieDeeksNico
Summary: Deeks has a secret. Takes place anytime after Deeks joins the fun. No pairings but the whole team makes appearances.
1. Chapter 1

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going. So please, review.

**8888888888888888888888888888888**

Every time the team urged or tried to force Deeks to train with them, he declined. Nobody could figure why and they just wouldn't let up on him about his training or lack thereof. Finally one day he agreed and trained with them. He was terrible. He couldn't do a single take down correctly, whined the entire time and complained about the pain when Kensi practiced take downs on him. After three training session like this they stopped asking him to join them. They did keep encouraging him to train even if it wasn't with them. When they did, he just chuckled, shook his head and said "I'm good." But if anyone of them were to look close enough they would notice the look in his eyes. A look that said 'I have a secret'; but none of them ever looked.

One day he came in with a black eye and a split lip. Fortunately, the swelling on his eye had gone down over the weekend. It was not completely gone but down enough that it didn't affect his vision. The split lip, which was still slightly swollen, was scabbed over but he still wasn't able to smile or laugh without it pulling.

He walked into the bullpen and sat at this desk with a "Good Morning, all" to the team. Nobody looked up as they replied to his greeting.

If or rather when they did notice, he was prepared for the ribbing he knew he was going to get from his teammates and he wasn't disappointed in their reactions.

Kensi was the first to notice the bruising, "What happened?" Kensi wanted to know. With her question Sam and Callen both looked up.

Deeks had a half-truth ready, "I…had a little trouble with a take down this past weekend." The team was shocked to say the least but still quick to pounce. Of course the team couldn't let it just go with that little bit of information.

Sam was the first to pipe up, "What was it? An old lady with a purse?" Deeks chuckled with the rest of the team but Deeks didn't give an answer.

Callen tried to get a rise out of Deeks next, "My guess is," Callen squinted at the Detective, "a celebrity wanna-be with her cell phone. Did you offend her Deeks? Maybe pat her down to much?"

Before Deeks could answer the questions, not that he was planning to answer them, and before Kensi had a chance to add her two cents to the conversation, Eric was at the top of the stairs with his infamous whistle.

With the cases and the work they had, nobody really remembered to needle Deeks about his black eye and split lip. The cases were solved and the black eye and split healed and were quickly forgotten by the team.

Three months later Deeks walked into the Mission with his left hand in a cast.

"Deeks? What the hell?" Callen wanted to know. Callen's exclamation brought Kensi's attention to the Detective. Sam merely glanced up at Deeks before returning to his paperwork, shaking his head in mock disgust.

Deeks was prepared for this and had another half-truth ready, "I went to Vegas this weekend with some friends and we went to the MMA fights…things kinda…got out of hand." He held his broken hand up, "You should see the other guy." He added with a small chuckle knowing the team would take the comment as a joke.

"Right," Sam stretched the word out so it lasted several seconds. He hadn't even bothered to look up as he spoke with a smirk on lips, "Really, what happened? Trip over your own feet again?"

"Ha. Funny Sam. Kensi, you're turn. Give me your best shot." Deeks encouraged.

"Um…somebody tried to cut in line at the coffee shop?" Kensi lamely tried to joke.

"Kensi, haven't we talked about this? Don't try and be funny. It doesn't work for you." Deeks laughed at her.

Kensi glared at him. She and Sam continued to ask Deeks questions about what happened. Callen watched as Deeks didn't answer a single question. He evaded and deflected them, but didn't answer them. Callen wondered why the younger detective would be so vague about what happened.

"Mr. Deeks, my office if you would." Hetty said as she passed by the bullpen.

Deeks hung his head, stood up and followed Hetty to her office. He sat down in one of her visitor's chairs, "Yes, Hetty?"

"How bad is your hand?" She asked.

"A couple of broken bones in the back of my hand and a cracked bone in my wrist. The cast should come off in about 4 weeks but the doctor thinks it will be 6 weeks before I'm fully healed."

"Mr. Deeks, first you're on desk duty until your hand heals."

He was about to argue that it was his left hand that was hurt, not his right hand/gun hand and that he could still go in the field. Hetty met his eyes with her own and simply stared at him like a mongoose while waiting for the first argument. He opened his mouth to argue a couple of seconds before it dawned on him that this was Hetty he was about to argue with and that she probably had every angle or excuse or idea he had to get around her mandate covered. It dawned on him that he really didn't have a choice and that all he could do was give up, so he gave up.

She waited until he nodded his head in agreement then she continued, "Second, what the hell were you thinking?"

Deeks looked at her in shock, "Wha…what…what do you mean?"

"You tried a shoot fighting technique on an experienced ground fighter? You're lucky you only broke your hand _and_ that the referee didn't notice it or he would've stopped the fight. I grant you, that was an excellent way to the end the fight; a sidekick right to the nose. That makes Jason's record 21-5, correct?"

"If you count Jason's fight against DeMarco Williams, that is correct. I'm not sure I count that fight since we were both undercover." Deeks chuckled and lowered his head but raised his eyes to look at her. She had a small smile on her face. "How long have you known?" Deeks wanted to know.

"Since you started to train as Jason Wyler again. We watch all our agents' aliases, Mr. Deeks." Deeks blushed a little; he should have known he couldn't pull one over on Hetty. She reached over her desk and handed him a DVD. "A copy of your last two fights. Watch and learn, Mr. Deeks. I don't want to see you all banged up again." She advised.

"Thank you Hetty."

"May I ask why you haven't told the team yet?" She enquired.

"I just want this to be for me. I don't need the team…" he paused searching for the right words. For a wordsmith he was having trouble finding the words to explain why he wanted to keep his secret. When he couldn't find the right ones, he just made a simple request, "If you don't mind, I just want this to remain between us."

Hetty nodded her head, "As you wish, Mr. Deeks."

"Who else knows?" Deeks asked.

"Only Miss. Jones since she did the backstopping to flesh out Jason Wyler. But her silence is guaranteed." When he didn't move, "I believe you have paperwork to do, Mr. Deeks. I suggest you get to it." He smiled at her and went back to his desk.

When he got back to his desk, he tucked the DVD into his messenger bag and sat down. When his team looked questions at him, he simply said "I'm on desk duty until this heals." He cringed as he saw the joy in his teammates' eyes.

Kensi and Callen stood up and deposited their paperwork on his desk at the same time Sam simply dropped his paperwork on Deeks' desk. He groaned and dropped his head onto his desk. "I need coffee," was all he said.

"Oh good idea Deeks; you're on coffee runs too. I'll take a Grande Latte with an extra shot and light foam." Sam informed him.

"Ok. I'll play your game, Sam. I'll get the coffee. Anybody else?" Deeks asked as he stood up.

He was walking to the coffee shop hoping that these coffee runs wouldn't last the entire 4 – 6 weeks it will take his hand to heal. Thinking about it, he decided he didn't really mind; he had his secret and an ally in Hetty and possibly a second one in Nell. He enjoyed what he was doing and loved the fact that even though they were trained professionals, a fact they never failed to remind him of, they hadn't figured him out yet. But 4 - 6 weeks of paperwork including lunch and coffee runs was going to be tough; especially since he couldn't get back in the ring. He could still hit the bag with his right hand and work on his kicks and cardio but it wasn't the same.


	2. Chapter 2

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

A/N: This was supposed to be a funny story, but I've never written an entire story of humor. This story is taking a different track than what I wanted but you know plot bunnies, when they want something, they nag until they get what they want. I apologize for this story not been the fun romp I was shooting for.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going. So please, review.

**8888888888888888888888888888888**

It was a VERY long 6 weeks of coffee & lunch runs only broken up by the load of paperwork he was given to do but it did come to an end and he was finally back to training. During those long 6 weeks, Deeks studied the DVD of his fights and worked out strategies for how to gain the upper hand in similar situations. When he got back to training he and his trainer worked on those strategies and several others as well. It took another month before he felt his hand was healed enough and he was fit enough to agree to another MMA fight. The fight was scheduled for 2½ months later in Chicago.

With seven weeks until the fight, he arrived at his gym to receive some devastating news: his trainer had been killed in a drunk-driving car accident. A drunk driver had rear-ended him as he sat at a stop sign waiting for a break in the traffic. The impact had pushed his car into the intersection where it was hit on the driver's side by a semi tractor-trailer. He died on impact.

On automatic, Deeks got changed, wrapped his hands and took some of his grief out on the heavy bag. How was he supposed to fight without his trainer? How would he find a new trainer and did he want to? Should he cancel the fight? As he was working out, his trainer's voice was in his head telling him to 'stay light on your feet' and 'if you are going to do this, do it all out, no half-assing it.' And his trainer's favorite expression 'WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?' came into his head when he hit the bag and his wrist crumpled from the impact. That's when he realized that he had been hitting the bag for almost an hour and half. His hands were very sore and he could barely lift his arms once he stopped. What his trainer had called 'the work-out high' had been broken and he decided to call it quits for the night; still with nothing resolved.

He went home and grabbed bottle of water and sat on his sofa trying to make decisions. The first decision to make was should he cancel the fight. When he really thought about it, he decided he didn't want to cancel it. So the next decision to make was about a trainer. He needed a new trainer but how to find the right one. He was bone tired from work, work out and the emotional turmoil of his trainer's death. He decided that one decision was enough for tonight. He went to bed and immediately fell asleep.

The next night he talked to some of the other fighters at the gym trying to get a bead on a new trainer. He got a couple of names and talked to those men. Unfortunately, neither man was willing to take on another fighter right now especially with a fight coming up so quickly. He was dejected about it but not enough to cancel the fight. He was wondering what he was going to do if he couldn't find a trainer.

Several days later, he was lifting weights when a man approached him. He said his name was Neil Polson and he was a trainer without a fighter and had heard that a fighter named Jason Wyler was looking for a trainer. "Are you Wyler?"

Deeks put his barbell back into its holder, thanked his spotter, who moved off, and turned to face the man in front of him. "Yea. I'm Wyler." Deeks looked the man up and down sizing him up. He appeared to be in his late 20s and had short cropped brown hair, brown eyes and a pointy chin. He was short, maybe 5'7" and stocky. He looked to be solid muscle. The first thought to go through Deeks head was _'roid user_. The second thought was vocalized, "You used to fight."

"Yep. Injury to my neck took me out of the ring about a year ago."

"You've ever trained anybody before?"

"No. I got out of rehab for my neck 3 weeks ago and I'm ready to work. I've help train other men but I've never been the head trainer."

"Head trainer? You've never trained anybody? Man, I have a fight in few weeks and you think you can train me?"

He lowered his gaze for a moment before answering, "No. When I was fighting, I would be anybody's sparring partner so I could get a chance to work on things for myself and learn from other trainers. And yes, I can train you."

"But you had your own trainer when you fought, right?"

"Yea, but he moved on while I was laid up for several months in the hospital and then there was rehab. I can't fight anymore without risking my ability to move anything below my neck. I wanna stay in the game and that means training someone. Right now though, I can't get anybody to train. I can train you. You will win." He stared Deeks in the eyes trying to instill this fighter with confidence that he could train him.

Deeks returned the look, coming to a decision. "Well, if I didn't have a fight in 6 weeks, I wouldn't give you a chance either. But I do have a fight coming up so we can give it a try. But I don't do drugs of any kind except ibuprofen; no 'roids, no blood packing, no weird supplements, nothing like that and I don't drink those disgusting protein drinks either. So don't ask me too. There's gonna be times where you cannot reach me under any circumstances so we have to stick to a strict schedule. Can you agree to all that?"

"Agreed." Neil stuck his hand out and Deeks took it to seal the deal.

"You know who I'm fighting, right?"

"Yea. It's gonna be a tough fight. I guess it's pretty lucky for you I'm here now, huh." Neil smiled at him.

Deeks scoffed at the comment, "then let's get to work…trainer." Both men smiled and headed off to get ring time.


	3. Chapter 3

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Thank you to those of you that have read or will read this story and an EXTRA BIG THANK YOU to those that reviewed, followed and favorite this story. I've enjoyed writing it.

I know almost nothing about MMA fighting. I've seen it a few times and it looks to me like just the training would leave bruises. If I've gotten something wrong about MMA or the UFC such as the training or fight scheduling, please remember this is just a story. Don't hunt me down, I wouldn't survive a fight.

Please remember: reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going. So please, review.

**8888888888888888888888888888888**

The first three weeks of training with Neil went by in a blur for several reasons: NCIS has several ongoing cases, LAPD had wanted him back for an extended undercover op and his new trainer was beating him to death every night. Fortunately with the NCIS team working together, they cleared some of their cases and Hetty intervened on his behalf with the LAPD, explaining that he was already involved with several other cases that he couldn't just drop at a moment's notice. Sadly, Hetty couldn't intervene on his behalf with Neil, not that he would've asked her to anyway. Deeks had a fight in three weeks and then he could decide to continue with Neil or not. Neil or as Deeks had come to call him, if only in his head, 'the devil's spawn' was a tough but good trainer. He had to admit that his fighting was vastly better but at what cost? He was exhausted and his body looked like he had been beaten with a baseball bat.

It really wasn't a surprise to him that he over-slept. He decided he really needed a day off and called into Hetty. Hetty didn't let him off as they had another case and Kensi was on her way to pick him up. Just after he got off the phone with Hetty, Kensi walked into his apartment not even bothering to knock. "Deeks! Where are you? You're late, again." She walked into his bedroom and saw him sitting on the edge of his bed, phone dangling from his fingers practically asleep again. She took in his more than usually messy hair, his unkempt hair and the t-shirt & boxers he was wearing looked to be loose on him. "God, you look like crap."

"Thanks. I didn't realize."

"Come on, we got a case. We'll get coffee on the way. Go take a quick shower and get dressed. I'll give you 10 minutes then I'm pouring you into the car, dressed or not." She left him to pull himself together and waited in the kitchen.

After giving Deeks 15 minutes rathen than 10, Kensi was banging on his bedroom door. "Dressed or not, here I come," Kensi let him know. He quickly opened the door before she could come in. He was dressed, mostly. He was carrying his socks and boots in one hand and his shirt was almost closed. Actually it was only closed by the bottom two buttons revealing a good portion of his chest and unfortunately a few bruises. "Deeks! What the hell!" She pulled his shirt farther open to look at his chest to see how many bruises he actually had and unfortunately there were more than a few.

"Princess, if you just wanted to see my manly and very hot body, you should have come in the room 5 minutes ago." Deeks deflected.

"Deeks, your covered in bruises! What the hell are they from?" She demanded.

Deeks wasn't prepared for her questions and was too tired to come up with a reasonable lie so he pulled a trick from her book: he changed the topic. "What's the case?" He asked while sitting on the sofa to put his socks & boots on.

She huffed and tried to think of a way to bring the subject back to him. When he looked up at her, she saw the glare he was trying to send her way through the exhaustion that was evident on his face and in his eyes. She relented and accepted the subject changed. "It's a PO suspected of selling classified info. She was caught by her CO while trying to access the information. Callen & Sam are talking to her in the boat shed, Eric & Nell are working her background and tracking her electronic trail. We're headed out to talk to her parents."

He looked at her with a 'oh come on, really?' look on his face. He had to pull himself together enough to talk to a suspect's parents? "I'm going to need coffee, a lot of coffee before we get there." Deeks informed her as he stood up and finished buttoning his shirt.

"Come on. It's going to take about 2 hours to get to their farm," she said as she headed toward the door. She turned to look at him as she opened the door, "We'll get you some coffee and then you can sleep on the way there and back."

He looked at her with such gratitude that she could only smile at him. He followed her out the door and shuffled his way over to her car, opening the door and falling into his seat he asked her, "You know I love you right, Fern?" He put his sunglasses on, buckled his seatbelt just before he leaned the seat back and promptly fell asleep.

His words hit her with a little shock before she realized that he was already sound asleep. She shook her head discounting his comment knowing that he said it only because he was completely out of it, "Yea, Shaggy, I know." She sighed and pulled away from the curb and into traffic.

Two hours later, Deeks was awoken by Kensi saying his name as they entered the small town their suspect's family lived in. He sat up, rubbed his eyes awake and looked out the window to see what was around them. "Where are we?" He asked not recognizing anything.

"We're almost there. How did you sleep?" She tried to glance at his face while still keep an eye on the road.

"Like the dead. Wait, we're almost there?"

"Yea, you were really out of it. I stopped about an hour ago and got you coffee. It's obviously cold at this point but I figured you could use it either way." She waited while he drank most of the coffee without stopping before speaking again. "You wanna tell me what's going on now? The exhaustion, the bruises?" She didn't want to go there, but her mind had taken her directly to abuse. Was someone hurting him? Who would do that? Why would he let someone hit him?

"Kens, I'll tell you about it some other time but not right now. We need to focus. I need to focus. Do we have a case file I can read before we get there?"

She was going to argue again but realized he was right and they both needed to focus. "File's in the back seat."

He found the file and started to read.


	4. Chapter 4

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Thank you to those of you that have read this story and an EXTRA BIG THANK YOU to those that reviewed, followed and favorite this story. I've enjoyed writing it.

I know very little about MMA fighting. If I've gotten something wrong about MMA or the UFC such as the training or fight scheduling, please remember this is just a story. Don't hunt me down, I wouldn't survive a fight. What you can do is send me a PM or add a comment to the review you leave with any help you want to give me regarding the story. A few of you have and I have found it VERY helpful. An Extra Thank you to K0nflicti0n for the help and inspiration for this chapter.

Please remember: reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going. So please, review.

**8888888888888888888888888888888**

The conversation with the Petty Officer's parents was a little disheartening. They were good people and awful things were headed their way. They were still so proud of their daughter. They didn't believe for a moment that she was guilty of what she was being accused of doing.

Deeks sat at their kitchen table with them, his hands wrapped around a cup of hot coffee while listening to them talk about their daughter. When his phone rang he checked the caller ID and saw the caller was Callen, "Excuse me but I have to take this. I apologize." Kensi looked a question at him. "Callen" was all he said before he stepped out on to the front porch. "Callen, what's up?"

"You guys are done. Eric and Nell discovered the Petty Officer was accidently granted access to the site she was seaarching. She was just trying to figure out what the site was and what she was supposed to do with it."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. Come on back, you're done."

"We drove two hours to get here for a computer glitch." Deeks scratched the top of his head and looked heaven-wards. He was astounded to say the least. "Can I at least tell these people that their daughter isn't in any trouble?" Deeks asked.

"Feel free. See you both back at ops." And Callen closed out the call.

Deeks went back into the house and explained what had happened. Within 15 minutes they were leaving the farmhouse and Kensi was driving them back to LA.

Before they actually left the small town, Deeks spotted a small café and pointed at it, "Kens, let's get some food."

As it was food, he figured Kensi would be more than willing to stop for a bite and he was correct. She immediately pulled the car over, parked it and got out to wait for Deeks.

Their lunch was good but devoid of any meaningful conversation. There was teasing and laughter and flirting but nothing else. Kensi wanted to bring up the bruises again but refrained. She wasn't sure he would talk to her about them yet but really hoped he was bring up the subject. Deeks on the other hand _knew_ she wanted to talk about the bruises and waited for her to bring it up since he wasn't about to. Since neither was willing to broach the subject their lunch didn't take long and soon they were back on the road.

Once on the road Deeks pretended to be asleep for two reasons: 1) to delay the conversation he knew Kensi wanted to have and 2) he needed to decide what to do about Neil. As he laid there with his eyes closed, he realized that lunch was the first time in weeks that he was relaxing and laughing and it felt good. He couldn't keep this schedule and training up. He had a fight in 3 weeks and he was flat worn out. He hadn't been surfing or hanging out with Kensi; no down time at all. It really wasn't much of a surprise when his pretending to sleep actually resulted in his sleeping the rest of the way back to the Mission.

After Kensi woke him up she watched his face and saw the strain. Deeks saw she was about to ask him something but cut her off, "Not yet, Kens. Please."

"Ok. But soon."

He nodded his head in agreement before getting out of the car. They went into the Mission because they still had paperwork to fill out and about 3 hours before the end of their day. Deeks put his bag down at this desk but before sitting down to attempt his paperwork he walked over to talk to Hetty.

"Hetty, do you have a minute?"

"Mr. Deeks. What can I do for you?" Hetty indicated for Deeks to have a seat.

"As you know I have a fight coming up in Chicago." He hadn't told her, but this was Hetty after all, he was sure she knew.

"Yes, in three weeks Mr. Deeks."

"I need the week of the fight off. Not the whole week, well actually…I would like…" He sat back in the chair, took a deep breath and tried again, "I would like to take off the Wednesday before and come back on the following Wednesday."

"You have 8 days of personal time accrued. As long as we don't get a case that requires your participation, I think I can approve the time off." Hetty smiled at him. "How's the training?"

He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "Very tough." He stood up, "Thank you." She nodded her head in acknowledgement and he went back to his desk to finish out the day.

As the day ended and the team was packing up for the night, Callen surprised them, "Anybody up for a beer?"

"You buying G?" Sam asked.

"First round at least." Callen replied.

"Then I'm in," Sam said.

Kensi was next to agree, "Me too. Deeks?"

"Not to tonight, guys. I've already got plans." He informed them with a wicked, shit-eating grin; purposefully leaving them with the impression that his plans were sexual in nature.

Kensi looked a little hurt but he didn't let that stop him. He finished packing his bag and headed out for his true plans, another hellish training session with 'the devil's spawn'.

He arrived at the gym and Neil was waiting for him. "Get warmed up, we've got work to do." Neil was all business.

Deeks warmed up and headed into the ring. He squared off with a new sparring partner and the training started. It wasn't long before Deeks realized that Neil had prepped this new guy because he found every one of Deeks' weaknesses and he quickly found himself on the mat, struggling to fight his way out of it. Finally he just yelled "**ENOUGH!**" and stopped moving, dropped his arms to the mat.

Shock registered on his partner's face as he stopped fighting and stepped back. Neil came stood over him, "What the hell, Jason?"

"I have had enough."

"You've gotta train. You have fight in three weeks."

Deeks stood up and started to remove his gloves, "I know. But I can barely raise my arms, I'm covered in bruises and I am burned out! I'm taking tonight off."

"You can't! You HAVE TO TRAIN!" Neil yelled back.

Deeks took a couple of deep breaths as he was leaving the ring and walking away from Neil. But Neil didn't let it go and walked around Deeks to block his path to the locker room.

"Did you hear me?"

Deeks blew up at him, "God Neil, you should know better! As a former fighter and especially now as a trainer you should know better. I know you are new to training but come on." Neil just looked at him. "It's not going to make me a better fighter to beat me up every night." Deeks stared him in the eye and stressed, "We will do cardio and strength and speed training but I'm NOT getting back into the ring to take another beating from whomever you find to beat me." He took a deep breath. "The fight is in 3 weeks and I will be ready for it. I will either win or I will lose. But right now, I'm taking a break."

Deeks left a stunned trainer behind him as he walked around Neil. When he entered the locker room he muttered to himself, "At least I know why no one else would train with him."

Deeks showered and changed back into his street clothes. He sat on the bench to put on his socks & boots wondering which would be better to do, go home and sleep or meet the team for a drink. He thought about it for all of 2 seconds before reaching for his phone and texting Kensi, asking where they were.

The text came back within a couple of seconds telling him where they were. He replied that he was on his way. Smiling he left the gym and headed out to find his team and friends.


	5. Chapter 5

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Thank you to those of you that have read this story and an EXTRA BIG THANK YOU to those that reviewed, followed and favorite this story. I'm enjoying writing it.

Please remember: reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going. So please, review.

**88888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

Deeks arrived at the bar to find a beer waiting for him and a seat open next to Kensi. He was smiling as he sat down and took a long drink of his beer.

Callen was the first to speak, "Get dumped for the night there Deeks?" which caused Sam to chuckle and Kensi to smirk.

"Plans change," Deeks replied still smiling. "What are we talking about?" He asked to change the subject off of himself.

The rest of night was spent with inane chatter and the re-telling of embarrassing stories. Deeks could feel Kensi's eyes on him from time to time but she didn't push any questions. Around 10:00 Deeks decided to call it a night. It was early yet, but he needed the sleep. So he excused himself from the group and headed to the door. He could feel Kensi's worried eyes on him the entire time as he was walking to the door.

The next day at the gym he felt more relaxed and was warming up when Neil approached him. Deeks glared at him for a second before going back to his warm up. Neil got the message, "Ok, so I might have gone a little overboard."

"A little?" Deeks lifted his shirt to show the bruises on his chest. "You think?" Deeks dropped his shirt back into place and restarted his warm up.

Neil was surprised at the amount of purple spots on his fighter's chest. "So alot overboard, huh? Sorry." Neil waited a beat, "We good?"

Deeks stopped his warm up again and looked at his trainer; judging his sincerity and making a decision. "Yea. We're good."

Neil nodded his head, "Strength, speed & cardio/stamina. We've got three weeks to make them the best that we can. Let's get to work." They walked over to a heavy bag. Neil braced it and Deeks took up position, ready to start hitting it. After the heavy bag came the speed bag and then the suspended ball. Neil even had him working like a sprinter so that he would be faster coming off the line.

The next 2 weeks were spent just as they had planned; strength, speed & stamina. Deeks' bruises healed and he was able to spend more time with Kensi and their movie nights. He could still feel her need to ask questions but thankfully she didn't ask them. At night he was able to sleep rather than pass out from exhaustion or pain. In short he was relaxed. The only problem he was having was finding clothes in his closet that actually fit. It seems even though he was still at 185 pounds, he had dropped a couple of inches off his body.

The Tuesday before the fight arrived and he was ready for the next few days off. Fate however didn't like that idea. That day they got a case that took them until very late Thursday night, in reality it was very early Friday morning to solve. Luckily for him Hetty had arranged for a change in his airline ticket and hotel reseverations so he was leaving Friday afternoon rather than Thursday morning as he had originally planned. Neil didn't like it but there was nothing he or Deeks could do about it. Neil agreed to meet him at the airport Friday evening.

"Your paperwork can wait until your return on Tuesday, Mr. Deeks. Have a good trip." Hetty said as she handed him his ticket.

He looked down at the itinerary that she handed him and noticed that she had changed his ticket and hotel reservation so it was only from Friday night to Monday morning. He really didn't want to come back a day earlier than originally planned but Hetty was Hetty and he didn't argue with her. At least he got Sunday & Monday to recover from whatever was going to happen to him on Saturday night.

"Thanks Hetty." He looked at Hetty and for the first time it hit him that he was going to have a fight in just over 30 hours against a very tough opponent, probably the toughest he had faced yet and he was suddenly nervous. He's pretty sure that she saw the nerves he was having because she smiled at him with what he hoped was an encouraging smile just before she turned to walk back to her desk.

The rest of the team looked up from their paperwork as Hetty left the bullpen. "Goin' somewhere?" Callen asked.

Deeks eyes followed Hetty as she crossed the floor. When he heard Callen's question he exhaled a breath that he didn't realize he was holding and brought his focus back to the people around him. Stuffing his ticket into his messenger bag while answering, "Yeah, just a couple of days off. I'm going to Chicago. See you guys next week." The stunned silence that followed his statement gave him the chance to leave without answering any other questions.

After he left Sam & Kensi looked at each other. Callen's eyes hadn't strayed from the door that Deeks exited as he asked "What is going on with him? Kens?"

"I have no idea. He hasn't talked to me about whatever it is, but something is going on, that much is for sure," was Kensi's worried reply.

**8888888888888888888888888888888888**

That Saturday night when Deeks stepped into the ring, he suddenly wasn't nervous anymore. He was better prepared for this fight than he had been for any of his previous fights. Win or lose he knew he was ready for this. It actually made him feel a little guilty for a second; he really liked and cared about his late trainer but he had to admit that Neil really had prepared him for this fight.

As he found out, he was more ready for it than he thought. The first two rounds were tough but in the third round he found an opening and instinct made him take it. The fight ended with a knock out and with Deeks still on his feet.

The next morning, in the hotel room, he rolled over with a groan when he heard his phone ringing. He groped for his phone and discovered his ribs hurt. He suspected it was from the knees he took and he was sure there would be a bruise the size of Lake Michigan on his left upper thigh in about a week. The muscle was already feeling tight.

He checked the time, 7:08am, as he grabbed his phone and saw "Hetty" on the screen. "Hetty? What's up?"

"Congratulations, Mr. Deeks! How do you feel?"

"Like I was in a fight." He chuckled.

He could hear the smirk in the words, "I imagine. It was quite an impressive display on both your part & your opponent's part."

Deeks wasn't fully awake yet, "Thanks". Suddenly her words penetrated his foggy head and he was wide awake, "You saw the fight? How?"

He could hear the smile slip from her face, "That is where we have a problem. It was broadcast live on the internet last night."

Deeks dropped his head into his hand, "God Hetty, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Rest assured Mr. Deeks; Ms. Jones has been working all night to scrub the video from the internet. We will do what we can to minimize the damage but we will have to discuss this further when you return on Tuesday. You might want to bring her a present as a thank you for all her work."

"Understood. Thanks Hetty. I really am sorry."

"I know, Mr. Deeks. Have a good morning." She responded just before disconnecting the call.

He dropped his phone on the table next to the bed, flopped back and slept for another couple of hours.

Another 4 hours passed before he finally woke up for the day. He showered which helped loosen up some of his tight muscles and headed out to see Chicago for a couple of hours. He decided to be a tourist and headed over to the Sears Tower. He found it amazing to look down at a helicopter as it passed below the observation floor of the tower.

Being from LA he was curious what 'Navy Pier' was all about. He discovered that he enjoyed it. It was cold with the wind blowing in off the lake and it didn't have the strange characters that Venice had or the free flowing attitude of the Santa Monica Pier, but he really enjoyed it. He found a couple of small gifts for Kensi, Nell and his neighbor who was looking after Monty for him.

He headed back to the hotel having thoroughly enjoyed his day wandering around Chicago. Even though it wasn't nearly as warm as LA he decided he really liked Chicago and would come back for a weekend getaway. Maybe he could convince Kensi to come with him. Then he could hit up some of the night life Chicago offered.

He and Neil had made plans to have dinner that night and what Deeks really wanted to have was a Chicago- style hotdog. He had been eating a no-carb, high protein diet for the last month and half and he really wanted fries and a hotdog.

Neil was sitting across from Deeks at the small diner they found. He was watching him scarf down a mountain of fries and three hotdogs when he decided to break into the single-person eating contest going on across the table from him. "Slow down! You're going to choke to death. We didn't spend the last 6 weeks beating you into shape for you to blow it all now."

Deeks rolled his eyes at him. "Give me a break. I'm sick of boiled chicken! Let me enjoy my food in peace."

Neil was laughing at him. "Come on, you don't want to go through that re-training do you?"

"Oh Come on! That guy was tough and I don't have a fight scheduled for anytime in the future so leave me and my food alone." Suddenly he felt like he was channeling Kensi.

"You never know. You might have a fight sooner than you think." Then he dropped the bombshell on Deeks. "Jason, I've accepted a fight on your behalf to fight the third ranked MMA fighter in the country."


	6. Chapter 6

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Please remember all you MMA or UFC fighters or fans, I'm not a fighter or a fan. I don't really know how the game of promoter/manager is played but I am a history buff and back alley promoter/manager dealings during the Depression were fairly common. Does this sort of thing still happen? I don't know. But this is where these ideas are coming from. Please don't hate me.

Thank you to those of you that have read this story and an EXTRA BIG THANK YOU to those that reviewed, followed and favorited this story. I'm enjoying writing it. And I'm going to admit that some of the reviews I received have inspired the last couple of chapters. I LOVE THAT! Thank you!

So, please remember: reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going. In this case literally, so please, review.

**88888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

Deeks sat there, hotdog half in his month and nearly choking on it, wide eyed and unmoving. Finally his brain kicked into gear. He swallowed his hotdog without choking on it too much, took a drink of his soda to wash it all down and shook his head. "I think I must not've heard you correctly. Because agreeing to a fight is something a manager does in consultation with his fighter. Not the trainer. So I must have misunderstood you." Deeks glared at him.

"Dude, what's the problem? You are so ready for this fight. It's going to be televised and the purse is huge! Not only that but it's a step closer to getting a title match. What's the downside?!" Neil was so excited about it that he was practically bouncing in his seat.

Deeks looked down at his hands and shook his head suddenly realizing that Neil didn't understand why he fought. He raised his head and made sure he had Neil's full attention. "I don't do this for publicity or money or a title match. I have a day job that I love and won't interrupt to fight. I'm not trying to be a professional UFC fighter. I fight because I like the work out and the test of my skills." Deeks intensified his gaze while looking Neil straight in the eye, "You are a trainer not a manager. And you're NOT my manager. I don't have a manager for this very reason. You don't get to decide when or where or who I fight."

Neil sat across from him dumbfounded. He didn't understand Wyler's attitude. "Jason, this is a chance hundreds of fighters would kill to have. You've earned this fight; I don't understand why you're having an issue."

"YOU. ARE. NOT. MY. MANAGER. You don't get to make those decisions for me." Deeks answered him like he was talking to a 5 year old.

"I signed the contract since you _don't_ have a manager. I was working on your behalf."

Deeks was furious. He wiped his mouth on a paper napkin and stood up to leave. Before leaving he looked down on Neil, "Fix this. I'm not doing the fight." He turned and left the diner.

Deeks walked down the street frustrated and angry at Neil. Televised?! Title match?! This was never supposed to go this far. His late trainer understood that. The thoughts in his head just kept going around and around never reaching any conclusions as he kept walking. He really wanted to find a beach and figure out what to do next so he walked toward Navy Pier. When he arrived he sat down on a bench and watched the lake roll in. Unfortunately it was late October and sitting on the beach around Lake Michigan was not his idea of relaxing because he was cold and shivering. He decided sitting here was stupid for him to do so he headed back to his hotel for the night. This time he grabbed a cab.

He arrived at his hotel in under 10 minutes. He entered his room to see the phone light blinking. He picked it up and found out there was a package waiting for him at the hotel's front desk. He called down and asked for the package to be delivered.

They arrived fairly quickly at his door with his package. It was a manila envelope that he opened to find it full of paper. He pulled it out and saw it was his copy of the contract for the fight. He flipped it to the last page and saw Neil's signature on the 'Manager' line. It also contained the signature of the promoter and a line for Jason Wyler's signature. "Shit." He dropped the papers on the nightstand and flopped back on the bed. He lay there for a while trying to figure out what exactly to do next. Neil wasn't authorized to sign any contracts on his behalf and being a lawyer he was sure he wasn't going to have to do the fight, but he really needed to tell Hetty. And he wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

He decided he really needed and wanted to talk to someone other than Hetty first. He needed an ally. He looked at the clock on the nightstand and realized it was still pretty early in California, only about 7:40 in the evening. He grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he reached the correct contact and pushed the send button. It rang only a couple of times before being picked up.

"Deeks! That was an awesome fight!" Nell yelled down the line.

Deeks chuckled at her enthusiasm, "Thanks Nell. I understand that you've had a hard time of it. Sorry about that, I didn't know they were going to broadcast it."

"Yea, that wasn't so good. It's been tough but I think I have most of it scrubbed."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. I have something else to talk to you about." He paused here, not really sure why he called her or what he expected her to do.

She waited for several beats before prompting him, "and that would be?"

He sighed, "I've been offered a fight against the third ranked MMA fighter in the country. My _trainer_ signed the contact without talking to me first. It's going to be televised. I haven't signed the contact and he wasn't authorized to sign on my behalf. He signed on the manger's signature line and he's not my manager. I don't have a manager. Now I've got to tell Hetty and I'm not sure how and I'm not going to have to do the fight because Neil really wasn't and isn't my manager." He stopped here to take a breath.

Nell decided to cut in since he was pausing, "WOW! That's great and so not great at the same time. He actually signed for you without talking to you?"

"Yea. I'm just not sure what to do or how to tell Hetty. Got any ideas?"

"Well, your best bet is to first tell Hetty and let her help you figure out what to do next."

"Yep, that's what I was afraid of." Deeks raked his hand over his face and through his hair.

"What are you afraid of? It's not like you did this on purpose and Hetty isn't going to kill you so what's the problem with telling her?" Nell questioned him.

"If I didn't do anything wrong why do I feel like a teenager having to tell their parent they crashed the car?" Deeks chuckled in despair.

"Because you respect her and care about her opinion of you and you feel you've let her down?"

Deeks was slightly stunned to realize, "Damn, you are good. Yes, that is exactly how I feel. This fight being broadcast and now with this new problem; I really do feel like I let her down."

"Well, knock it the hell off because you didn't. So suck it up or grow a pair or something along those lines and talk to Hetty in the morning."

"Yes ma'am." Deeks still was scared to talk to Hetty but Nell made him laugh. "I'll see you Tuesday. No, Monday. I'm coming into OSP after I get in. The sooner I get it over with the better, right?"

"Right. Now get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes Ma'am!" If he didn't already like Nell as much as he did, this conversation would have made him like her. He really liked her friendly, straight-to-the-heart-of-the-problem style.

"Oh and don't forget to bring me a present." Nell said just before she ended the call.

Deeks just laughed at his friend and thanks to said friend he decided that the world really didn't come to an end in the short couple of hours since dinner started and now. He followed Nell's order and went to bed agreeing that worrying wasn't going to do him any good.

The next morning he was getting ready to leave for the airport when his 'Jason' phone rang. He checked the caller ID to see 'Neil' displayed. He sighed and picked up the call. "Wyler."

"Jason, I've talked to the promoter, he's really pissed and let me know how pissed he was. Where are you?"

"Still at the hotel getting ready to leave for the airport. Does this mean you fixed your error?" Deeks coolly asked.

"Can you come down? I'm in your hotel's lobby's Men's Room."

"Why are you…never mind. Is it really important?"

"Yea. It really is."

"Ok, I'm on my way down." He disconnected the call and grabbed his bag. He headed down to the lobby to meet Neil in the Men's Room of all places.

He left his bag with the front desk and headed over to the restroom. When he opened the door he saw Neil's reflection in a mirror. He could see the man had a split and swollen lip and the beginnings of what would be a spectacular black eye.

"What the hell?" Deeks got Neil's attention as he stepped into the room and let the door close behind him. Following NCIS protocols, he did a quick sweep of the room to make sure they were alone.

Neil snorted, "I told you, he was pissed. He did this himself. He said it was just a taste if you didn't do the fight."

"You're ok though right? Your neck is ok?"

"I think so. It hurts but I think I got lucky."

Deeks nodded his head, "Good. When's your flight home?" Deeks questioned having already slipped into cop/agent mode.

"Later today. It gets into LA about 7pm local time. I'm sorry. I didn't know something like this would happen. What are we going to do?"

"Alright, get your stuff and come to the airport." Neil looked a question at him. "They can't touch you once you get past security." But Deeks had to add, "unless they're taking a flight as well."

"Great! That's real encouraging, thanks." He shook his head, "Ok, I've already checked out of my hotel. I left my stuff at the front desk before coming in here." Neil indicted with a jerk of his thumb that he meant the front desk at Deeks' hotel.

"Good, let's go." Deeks held the door open for Neil and they both left the restroom. "Let's not talk about where we just met, ok?"

Neil let out a laugh until he realized that his split lip hurt too much to laugh. "Agreed."

They collected their bags from the front desk, Deeks settled his bill and they grabbed a cab to the airport where they both sat and waited for their planes home.


	7. Chapter 7

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing, following and favoriting. Each and every one is beyond special to me. I take your time as valuable as my own and I thank you for lending me some of it.

Please remember all you MMA or UFC fighters or fans, I'm not a fighter or a fan. I don't really know how the game of promoter/manager is played but I am a history buff and back alley promoter/manager dealings during the Depression were fairly common. Does this sort of thing still happen? I don't know. But this is where these ideas are coming from. Please don't hate me.

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.

**8888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

While he waited for his flight, Deeks made a decision. He reached for his phone and hit speed dial #1. He knew it was still early yet in California, 6:42am to be exact, but he figured he was going to be facing a lot of lions today, i.e. telling the team his secret, and he wanted to see if he had another ally before the actual carnage began. Each one was formidable on their own but combined he imagined them to be unstoppable. Having all three female members of the team on his side sure couldn't hurt.

The phone only rang twice before, "Deeks?" a sleepy voiced Kensi answerd, "Are you…are you ok?"

"Yea, no, I'm ok. Look, can you pick me up at that airport? My flight gets in at 10:30 this morning your time. I took a cab when I left and I need to talk to you about something. Can you come get me? I'll buy you donuts."

"Yea, sure I'll be there."

"Thanks, I'll text you the flight info. See you then."

"Ok. Bye."

_9am, Monday Morning, Office of Special Projects_

Callen & Sam were walking into the bullpen when Eric came rushing down the stairs and practically skidded to a stop just before slamming in the back of Sam. "Wow, Eric. Where's the fire?" Sam asked with a chuckle.

"Yea, man, leave the surfing at the beach." Callen added smiling.

Ignoring their comments Eric pointed at the plasma screen, hit a couple of keys, "You have to see this!" His eyes were shining with excitement.

Callen & Sam turned their heads to the screen in time to see an MMA fight in progress appear. Sam watched for a second before turning to Eric, "Their technique is good. So what?"

"Watch" was all Eric said to him.

Sam turned back to the screen and watched closer. Finally he noticed something familiar about one of the fighters. He approached the screen to see it closer. They watched as the fight ended with a knock out in, according to the announcer, the 3rd round. The camera focused in on the winner of the fight.

Callen and Sam stood facing the screen stunned and silent. Eric was grinning from ear to ear. "I know, right? That _is_ Deeks, isn't it?"

Callen & Sam turned to each other for a quick eye conversation and then turned back to Eric. Callen pointed behind him at the screen, "WHEN?"

"I found this," he pointed at the screen, "this morning. It was broadcast on the internet this past Saturday night. Jason Wyler won. I checked his record: 22-5. His last loss: DeMarco Williams," he looked at Sam.

"Have you found any more of his fights?" Sam asked.

"No. I've checked. I have found references to them but no actual footage. I can tell that all the other footage has been removed from the internet and by someone who knows what they doing. I wouldn't have found this except I was doing…something I probably shouldn't tell you about on someone else's computer that I shouldn't tell you about." Eric flinched and didn't meet their eyes.

"You were on NELL'S computer? You better hope she never finds out." Callen informed him.

"Yea, ok. But back to this…" Eric pointed at the screen that he had frozen on Deeks' sweaty face.

Callen turned to Sam, "Do you think this is what he's been hiding? That he's been fighting?"

"Why would he keep it a secret?" Sam asked.

"Like you guys would ever let up on him about it if you knew about it." When Callen & Sam turned their attention back to Eric with questioning glares in their eyes Eric figuratively and literally retreated, "I said that out loud didn't I? Yea, ok, I'm going to back to ops." He turned and bolted back up the stairs. When he reached the top of the stairs he stopped and turned toward the plasma screen and removed the fight footage before stepping past the sliding doors of his domain.

"Do we tell Kensi?" Sam asked as they moved to sit at their desks. Callen just raised his eyebrows as his way of asking the question right back to Sam. "Are we sure she doesn't know?" Sam asked next.

"Good question," was Callen's only response.

Kensi walked into OSP less than 5 minutes later. "Hey guys. I'm gonna be leaving in about 30 minutes. Deeks needs a ride." She looked at the guys and noticed the carefully constructed casual expressions on each of their faces, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Sam said just as Callen said "Not a thing."

"Uh huh. You guys are acting weird." When neither man spoke she shook her head, "I'm going to talk to Hetty." She didn't know what the guys' problem was but right then she didn't care. She turned and headed off to find Hetty.

_11am LAX outside baggage claim_

Deeks had collected his bags and was waiting on the side walk when Kensi pulled up in her SRX. "Need a ride sailor?" She yelled through the open passenger window with an open smile on her face.

Deeks smiled, opened up the backseat door, threw his bags in the back and then climbed into the passenger seat. "Thanks, Kens."

"No problem," she said as she pulled out into traffic. "So what's going on?"

"You don't want donuts first?" Deeks was surprised.

"Nope. This way if it's needed you can buy me more donuts." She smiled at him. "Now, what's going on?"

"No, yeah, ok. That's reasonable." He looked forward and really didn't know how or where to start. "Well…" and he stopped. Why was this so hard?

When he didn't continue, "Come on, spit it out."

"Ok." He took a deep breath and did as she said, he spit it out, "I went to Chicago this weekend because I had a fight. An MMA fight as Jason Wyler."

Kensi was quiet for several minutes as she processed his short statement. Deeks let her be quiet and didn't interrupt her thoughts. "So…you've been fighting MMA again. That's the big secret? That's why all the bruises, broken hand and all?"

"Yep."

She reached over and punched him in the shoulder as hard as she could. "Ow! What was that for?"

She was silent again and he glanced to his left to see that her jaw was clinched and she was focused intently on the road ahead. "I thought someone was abusing you or something Jackass! I see bruises and you are secretive and we stopped hanging out. What was I supposed to think?!"

He didn't say anything to her statement. He was humbled that she cared enough to worry about him.

"Why?" was her only question.

Deeks was confused, "Why, what?"

"Why fight? Why keep it a secret from the team?" Then she got to the crux of the real question, "Why didn't you tell me? We're partners and that's a pretty big thing to keep quiet about. Didn't you trust me?"

"Kens, it didn't have anything to do with trust."

She cut him off, "If feels like it has a lot do with trust. You didn't trust me with your secret, that's a pretty big deal."

"It's not that. I wanted something…" he stopped talking here because he was having the same problem explaining this Kensi just as he did when he tried to explain it to Hetty. "Ok…Have you ever just wanted something for yourself? Something that was just yours and nobody else's? Something that nobody else knew and you didn't have to share it or wonder what anybody thought about it or you for doing it?"

Kensi thought and thought and thought but she couldn't think of anytime when she felt that way. "No. I haven't."

Deeks' head turned to look at her before sighing in frustration. "Well, I just didn't want to share, Ok? I liked having a secret. I liked that I knew something you all didn't." He raised his hands and eyes to the ceiling of the car, "the high and mighty all-knowing special federal agents couldn't figure it out." He dropped his hands back into his lap and returned his eyes her face. "I liked that I didn't have to explain myself or why I was doing it. Or listen to Sam or Callen or YOU belittle me for doing it." He turned back to facing the road, clasped his hands in front of him, "Besides it was personal."

Silently she agreed that he was probably correct and the guys wouldn't have let up on him. She stopped at a red light and turned to face him. "Ok, I see not telling the team. But me? I wouldn't have laughed at you. I think it's great. How long have you been back to training?" When the light changed she drove through the intersection and pulled the car over to side of the street in front of her favorite donut shop, the one that invented the maple glazed bacon donut.

As they got out of the car and walked into the shop, the conversation continued. "For the record, I never stopped fighting. I've been fighting as Jason Wyler since we met. And I have a pretty good record too."

"Wow, you never stopped? What about all those times you trained with us? You sucked!"

His voice rose with a little hint of pride, "Nope, didn't stop just changed gyms and really Kensi? We lie for a living or as I have said before 'Truth re-imagined for the greater good'. And you never noticed when it came down to a fist fight that I always won? I may have gotten hit a few times, but, think about it, I always won."

Here the conversation halted as Kensi ordered a variety of her favorite donuts, a dozen in all. They stood at the register while the clerk totaled the bill. "$18.00" he said.

Before Deeks could reach for his wallet Kensi looked at the clerk and added, "He's buying," as she took the donuts and walked back to her car. She had climbed into the car and already selected her first donut by the time Deeks arrived back in the car.

"Do I get one of those?" He asked pointing at the box that sat between them.

"Yes, you can have one, but not the bacon one." She warned.

Deeks smiled at her and selected the one he knew she had chosen for him. It was a favorite: a simple but delicious raised glazed donut.

It was while sharing their treats that she finally realized how amazing Deeks was at undercover work. He had convinced 3 highly trained federal agents that he just really sucked at self-defense. She finished her donut and her voice turned stern as the conversation continued, "well, don't lie to me again. I don't like it. Does anybody else know?"

"Hetty of course." Kensi gave him a one-shoulder shrug and a little eye roll in an 'of course' gesture. "and Nell."

She nearly choked on her mouthful of donut, "NELL?! And she didn't tell me? That little…"

Deeks cut her off before she could work herself into a rage at Nell, "I think that Nell has way more secrets in her head that we could ever want to know. She's almost a mini-Hetty already except that she's a littler taller than Hetty."

"Meh. True. But still, you didn't tell me, Nell didn't tell me. Who's next? Sam? Callen? Eric? And why does Nell know?"

"She did the backstopping on Jason. To quote Hetty, 'We watch all our agents' alias'."

"Huh. Ok. That's it though right? Any more secrets you want to spill?"

Deeks gave a slight shrug knowing that there would be at least one more to share, "No. Well, not right this moment anyway." She turned to look at him and he gave her a full smile. "I have something I have to talk to Hetty about first. I'm going to tell you, but I really should talk to Hetty first. Ok?"

She studied him, "Fine, but then no more secrets."

Not surprisingly he didn't commit to that statement at all, he just smiled at her.


	8. Chapter 8

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing, following and favoriting. Each and every one is beyond special to me. I take your time as valuable as my own and I thank you for lending me some of it. This statement is still very true. And _**WOW **_is this story going places I didn't imagine it would. I hope you all stick around for the ride. I know this chapter isn't action packed or full of obvious intrigue but I hope you enjoy it.

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.

**8888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

That Monday afternoon Deeks & Kensi arrived at OSP. Kensi veered off toward the bullpen and Deeks headed straight to Hetty's desk. A quick glance in the bullpen as he passed showed that the guys weren't there. He stopped just outside of Hetty's desk's platform. He knocked on the post outside her office "Hetty? Do you have a second?" He asked.

"Mr. Deeks, I'm a little surprised to see you today. What can I do for you?" She indicated with her hand that he should take a seat in one of her visitor's chairs. "Tea?"

"Thank you, no. I uh…yea, I have a problem I need to talk to you about it."

Hetty leaned back in her chair and just looked at him. Seeing his tight facial features and serious eyes she realized it was a fairly serious problem. "What's the problem?"

Deeks reached into his messenger bag and pulled out his copy of the contract. He handed it over to her. She opened the front page and started to read it. Realizing what she was reading she quickly decided that an explanation was in order first. Placing the contract on her desk she looked back up at him waiting for him to start.

He didn't hesitate once she looked at him, "This started after I talked to you. My _trainer_, Neil Polson, signed this contract as my manager, which he isn't. It's for a fight against the third ranked MMA fighter in the country. It's supposed to be televised." As he spoke he saw Hetty's face become darker and more serious. "When he told me about it, I told him that I wasn't doing the fight and he needed to fix it. I haven't signed the contract and he wasn't authorized to sign as my manager so legally I won't have to do the fight."

"Why do I feel we have reached the real problem?" Hetty asked him.

"Because we have; Neil called me this morning before I left the hotel. We met up in the lobby area and he told me that he talked to the promoter to get me out of the fight. They hit him Hetty. Not a lot but a few times and said that it was just a taste if I didn't do the fight."

"Where is Mr. Polson now?"

"His flight should be arriving around 7 tonight. I left him at O'Hare sitting at his gate with instructions not to move from there for any reason. They won't try anything against him or Jason yet. I think they just want to scare Jason into doing the fight. But that doesn't make sense to me. If they are trying to scare Jason into the fight, why threaten him with a beating? He's a fighter. Why would a beating scare him?"

"First things first Mr. Deeks." Hetty forestalled him. She picked up her phone and hit a couple of buttons. "Miss Jones, would you please join us in my office?" She waited for the answer and then hung up. "You do realize your secret is going to come out?"

"Yea, I've already told Kensi about it; except this last part. I wanted to talk to you first. Oh and I told Nell last night about the contract issue. I guess…" he cleared his throat, "I guess I needed to talk it out with someone. She really knows how to cut the heart of a problem, doesn't she? She doesn't know about them hitting Neil."

Hetty raised one of her eyebrows, surprised he had turned to Nell for support. They waited in silence for a moment before Nell joined them. Hetty flipped to the last page of the extensively worded contract in front of her to see the names written there. She wrote the names Carlson Jacoby and Neil Polson on a piece of paper and handed it to her, "Miss Jones, I need a full background check on both of these men. I believe the first one is an MMA promoter, the other is Jason Wyler's trainer. Feel free to enlist Mr. Beale's assistance if you wish. And Miss Jones, I need to soon."

"Of course, Hetty." Nell glanced at Deeks before she quickly turned and walked back to her desk in ops.

"Now," she turned her attention back to Deeks, "have you read the contract?"

"I glanced at it but I haven't studied it yet."

She handed the contract back to him, "Study it. I expect a summary of the terms & conditions by tomorrow morning." He looked up at her wondering what she was up to. "You're still a lawyer are you not?"

He took the contract, "Yea, I still have a license to practice law in the State of California."

Hetty gave him an inquisitive look. "I believe you have a license to practice law in other states as well, Mr. Deeks. Perhaps you can use one or more of your licenses, as Mr. Wyler's lawyer, to make subtle inquiries on his behalf?"

"That's why you get the big money, Hetty." Deeks was all out smiling now as he understood what Hetty was suggesting. Martin A. Deeks, Lawyer could ask questions that Jason Wyler couldn't and all from a law firm he had previously worked with in another state. How he loved the way Hetty's mind worked sometimes.

"Since Ms. Blye is your transportation today, I think your desk is waiting for you Mr. Deeks and perhaps you can inform Ms. Blye of your predicament."

Deeks smiled a large toothy smile on his walk back to his desk preparing himself to have another albeit easier conversation with Kensi.

Two hours later Sam & Callen returned to OSP and stopped talking when they saw Deeks sitting at his desk, deeply engrossed in whatever it was he was reading. They watched for a few seconds and saw Deeks write something on a pad of paper then highlight something on whatever he was reading. They looked over at Kensi and saw she was working just as hard on her overdue reports. Both men were somewhat taken back by the quiet, studious nature of the younger agents. "Ok, enough," Callen couldn't take the silence anymore, "what's going on?"

Kensi's head snapped up when Callen spoke. She was so into getting her reports done and not bothering Deeks so he could concentrate, she hadn't heard the other agents enter. "Oh, hi guys. Where've you been?" Kensi asked.

"No, don't change the subject, what's going on here?" Callen really wanted to know.

"What do you mean?" Kensi tried to evade.

"Exactly what he asked: what's going on here? You're working," he pointed to her very full 'outbox' and then pointed at Deeks, "and Deeks is quiet. Have there been other signs of the world coming to an end?" Sam joked.

"Funny. That was funny. Almost." Deeks spoke without looking up while still concentrating on the contract in front of him. Just then he felt his 'Jason' phone vibrate indicating he had a text. He pulled the phone out and checked the text. It was from Neil saying he was getting on the plane and should be arriving about 7:30 if there weren't any more delays. Deeks typed a quick reply to make sure to let him know when he arrived and to have a good flight.

"I didn't think you would be back until tomorrow." Callen further pried.

"Kensi's my ride." Was all Deeks said as if that answered every question they might ask.

Callen looked at Sam as they sat at their respective places and decided to let it go for now. He really wanted to find out about the MMA thing but didn't want to bring it up in front Kensi, just in case.

Another hour passed and Kensi's in box was empty. "I'm going to the firing range. All this paperwork has made me want to and need to shoot something." Kensi smiled at the guys as if asking for volunteers to be targets.

"Have fun." Sam said quickly looking back down at his own paperwork. Deeks didn't speak or indicate he heard her speak at all. Callen glanced at her when she was speaking and was surprised that she wasn't upset that Deeks pretty much just ignored her. He also quickly focused back on his work and waved at her.

"Well, ok then. Deeks, an hour?" She asked as she pushed back from her desk and stood up. He gave her a quick thumb's up but otherwise still didn't respond to her.

After she left Deeks got up with a pad of paper, highlighter and the contract in hand with a pen in his mouth. He headed over to the sofa and parked himself right in the middle of it. He leaned back and put his feet up on the small table in front of him. He accomplished this entire transfer without ever breaking his concentration on what he was reading.

Sam and Callen watched him relocate himself with bemused smirks on their faces. "What's so interesting there Deeks?" Callen asked him.

"It's a contract."

"Using your lawyering skills?" Sam prodded.

"Yep. Gotta keep all the skills sharp." Deeks deadpanned.

Since he didn't continue the conversation, they determined that they weren't going to get any other information out of him and turned back to their own work.

An hour later Kensi walked back into the bullpen. "Ready?" Deeks still didn't stop reading. He got up from the sofa, grabbed his messenger bag and followed her out the door with the contract in one hand, the pad of paper and highlighter in the other and his pen in his mouth.


	9. Chapter 9

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

The overwhelming response to the last chapter just blew me away. You all are so wonderful! Thank you so much for your support.

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.

**8888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

Callen looked at Sam, "What's up with Deeks? I have never seen him so….focused. I know how to deal with 'overly chatty' Deeks but I was lost on how to deal with a Deeks that didn't talk."

"I enjoyed the silence." Sam told him, "but I'll admit it was odd. What do you think he is up to?"

"I don't know but whatever it is, it must be pretty important considering the way he was working. Right now though, I think I need a beer. You?"

"Not tonight and neither are you." At Callen's questioning look, "You forgot we have a school play to attend. Uncle Callen promised to be there."

"That's tonight? Really?" Sam nodded his head, "Well, I bet she's gonna be great. What part is she playing?"

"She's the tree on the left side of the stage."

"She's a tree?"

"Yep and she will be the best tree there. Now come on, we have to hurry or we'll be late." Callen and Sam left the Mission and headed for a school play.

That night as Sam & Callen were watching a school play, Deeks was sitting on his sofa re-reading the contract for the fifth time trying to find anything strange about it. He put the contract down and was headed to the kitchen for some water when his 'Jason' phone went off. The caller ID said 'Neil', "Hey man. What's going on? You back?"

"Yea and I think I'm being followed."

"What? You're being followed? Are you sure?" Deeks asked.

"No. How would I know? I'm not a cop or anything. I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid." Neil said.

"Ok, why do you think you're being followed?" Deeks started to gather as much information as possible through directed questioning.

"I left the airport and was getting my car from long term parking and this guy was there. Just standing there."

"Describe him." Deeks encouraged.

"Taller than me, shorter than you. Dark pants, light blue shirt, dark suit coat thing."

"Anything else? Hair color, eye color, scars? Anything?"

"Dude, I'm not a woman, what do you want from me? He had short ordinary colored hair. I wasn't close enough to see his eyes. He was just there, just standing there."

"And you think you're being followed why?" Deeks continued the questioning

"Because I saw him get into a car and that car has been behind me the whole drive. And I've never seen this guy."

"Don't go home. Go somewhere public, not the beach. A mall. Go to the Beverly Connection mall and go shopping." Deeks ordered him.

Neil pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at like it was snake, "I don't wanna go shopping." He shouted into the phone.

Deeks winced at the shout but continued, "There's security guards there. You'll be safer there. I'll meet you there in one hour. Wait outside the security office on the lower level. Park as close to that entrance as you can. Call me if anything else happens."

"Ok. Security office, lower level, park close to the entrance. Got it. Jason, man, I'm really sorry about all this."

"Later. Right now just do what I tell you." Deeks told him. "See you in an hour."

"Yea." Neil mutter as he closed the call.

Deeks next call was to Hetty to let her know what was going on and promising to keep her updated. Less than an hour later Deeks found himself waiting outside the security office. He had checked in with the office to let them know that he was an off duty LAPD Detective and that he was carrying his weapon.

10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes later, Deeks was worried. Neil should have been there before he arrived. He stepped into the office and asked for a couple of extra security guards to help check the parking garage. He and two guards headed out to walk the garage.

Five minutes later he heard one of the guard shout, "Detective? Found him. He's hurt."

Deeks raced over as the guard was about to turn him over onto his back, "Don't move him. He has a bad neck injury. Call an ambulance."

As one guard called the office asking for an ambulance, Deeks took both of their flash lights and laid them on either side of Neil's neck to stabilize it. "Neil, can you hear me? Neil? Come on man, I need you to wake up." There was no response.

Waiting for the ambulance to arrive, he had one of the guards holding the flashlights while he worked the crime scene. With his phone he took pictures of the tire marks that were left on the pavement and showed where the car had waited for Neil. "Damn."

He uploaded the photos to his skydrive and then called Hetty to let her know what had happened. "Yea, I'm going to follow him to the hospital. He hasn't woken up yet. This is getting serious Hetty."

"Yes it is Mr. Deeks. I think it's time we involved the others."

"Seems like I'm saying 'I'm sorry' to you a lot lately but, I'm sorry Hetty." Deeks sighed into the phone.

"Take care of Mr. Polson, we will deal with the rest tomorrow, Mr. Deeks."

"Thank you Hetty." And the call was disconnected.

The next morning brought the duo of Callen & Sam back into the Mission still talking about the school play, "She was great! She remembered all the words to the songs AND didn't freeze up. My daughter is a genius." Sam boasted.

"A true genius." Callen agreed. "It's a good thing she takes after her mother." Callen smirked at him expecting Sam to retaliate in kind but got a surprise.

"Yes she does and I couldn't be prouder." Sam beamed at him. Sam looked down and saw Deeks messenger bag on his desk. "Deeks is here already?"

"Now this is just getting ridiculous. He beat _us_ here?" Callen looked at Kensi's desk but her desk was sans junk so he knew she hadn't arrived yet.

"If you would've taken the 10 like I told you…" Sam bantered.

"Don't start," Callen cut him off. "Kensi's not here so if Deeks is here, where is he?" Callen asked sitting down and grabbing a file off the top of his inbox.

Sam looked around until he spotted Deeks, "He's talking with Hetty." Sam said as he also sat down and grabbed a file out of his inbox.

Over at Hetty's desk, "Are you sure Mr. Deeks?"

"Yea. He should be fine. He's not happy about being in the hospital again, but he is safer there than anywhere else and he still has some numbness in his legs. According to the doctors though that should change in the next couple of days as the swelling in his neck goes down. The car just swiped him. If he didn't have the neck injury, he might have been bruised but not hurt."

Hetty nodded her head sagely. "What about the contract? Anything unusual?"

"No. This is just a standard contract; nothing strange about it. No loop holes or strange clauses. I can say it wasn't written by a specific lawyer. Not only is it to standard to be authored by a specific lawyer but I recognized it from a legal forms website. Anyone with internet access could do this."

"Now I think we need to see what Miss Jones has discovered and then we can bring this to the team's attention." Hetty told him as she stood up.

This was what Deeks had been dreading the entire time: Facing more lions. He dropped his head to his chest, "Great" he mumbled.

"Don't worry, Mr. Deeks. It won't be that bad." Hetty laughed at him.

Deeks really shouldn't have been surprised that she heard him but he still was. _How does she do that?_ He thought.

Callen, Sam & Kensi observed Deeks follow Hetty up to ops. All three looked at each other with the same question on their faces, what's going on?

Kensi figured it had something to do with the potential MMA fight Deeks was involved with but she didn't give anything away. It was Deeks' story to tell not hers and she wouldn't spill the beans on him.

Hetty arrived in ops, "Miss Jones?"

"Hetty, this is bigger than just," she shot her eyes over to Eric not wanting to give away more in front of him than she had too, "the problem we already have." She handed Hetty the file she had organized.

Hetty perused the file. Her eyes were still on the file, "Mr. Beale, I believe we have a case. Please assemble the team."

Eric looked at Hetty and then Nell before standing up and heading to the mezzanine to gather the other team member with his whistle.


	10. Chapter 10

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Gosh, I'm enjoying writing this story! I hope you all are having the same joy in reading it. Thanks again to everyone who has read this story. You all are great!

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.

**8888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

As Hetty continued to read the file and Eric went to gather the troops, Deeks step over to Nell, "I've told Kensi. She knows about the fighting and that you know about it as well. She also knows about the contact issues. I didn't want you to get blindsided by her if she really wanted to know why you didn't tell her."

"Oh I'm glad to hear you told her 'cause I've really wanted to tell her."

"I know." Deeks smiled at her, "Thanks for keeping my secret. Now I just need to face the rest of the lion pride."

"Don't worry, I've got your back." Nell smiled back at him. Not surprisingly, that actually made him feel better about telling the guys.

Eric reached the top of the stairs and let out a piercing whistle. The three team members that were in the bullpen looked up when they heard the whistle. Eric jerked his thumb over his shoulder indicting they were needed in ops before he turned around and went back to his desk.

When everyone was assembled, Hetty indicated to Nell to start the briefing but it was Deeks that spoke up, "As Jason Wyler I've been fighting MMA. That's what I was doing in Chicago this weekend. Some things have happened since then."

A picture of Carlson Jacoby was placed on the big screen. He looked to be in his middle to late 60s. Grey receding hair but he appeared to be fit with a strong jaw line. "This is Carlson Jacoby," Nell began. "He claims to be an MMA promoter but what he really is a smuggler, arms dealer, trafficker, loan shark, etc, etc, etc. If it's possible for him to make money out of it, he has done it or tried it in the last 30 years; which is when Carlson Jacoby first showed up on any database. Before that, he didn't exist. I'm running facial rec on him through DOD, FBI, INS and Interpol and all domestic databases: TSA, IRS, etc.

"Right now, he's trying to get into the MMA/UFC world. He offered a fight to Jason Wyler against the third ranked MMA fighter in the country." All eyes turned to Deeks for a moment but were brought back to Nell as she continued, "the fight is supposed to be televised." Everyone understood the trouble that would cause NCIS in general and Deeks and the team in particular.

Nell stopped to take a breath and as Deeks expected, the lions pounced like they were going after a gazelle. Callen was first, "Deeks, an MMA fighter. What is this world coming too, Sam? Everything seems to be getting easier to do."

"That's true, G. I mean if Deeks is good enough to get a fight with a ranked fighter, how hard can it really be?"

"The last fight didn't last long so it must not have been every difficult." Eric bravely added.

They had their backs to the object of their ridicule and when they turned to see Deeks' reaction, they saw that he was smiling. They thought he was smiling at their comments until he turned his eyes toward the big screen. The men turned to see what Deeks found amusing only to discover what he found humorous, they didn't. What greeted them were the three women of the team, standing shoulder to shoulder with their arms crossed. All three had the 'gorgon' stare and it was directed at the three laughing men. The amusement fell from Callen's, Sam's & Eric's faces faster than a lightning strike. Deeks' smile grew bigger at the look of terror on his teammates' faces.

A few seconds of the men squirming under 'the stare' was all it took. Sam, who was the only one married and having faced similar stares in the past, was the one to break. He looked away and suggested, "Maybe we should get back to the briefing?"

Hetty nodded her head in agreement, "Excellent idea Mr. Hanna."

Nell glared at them for a moment longer before restarting the briefing, "The contract was signed by this man," another picture appeared next to Jacoby's, "Neil Polson. He's Wyler's trainer. Polson took it upon himself to sign the contract as Wyler's manager."

This is where Deeks picked up the briefing, "I told Neil I wasn't going to do it. He went back to get out of the deal and they smacked him around. Then last night after his flight arrived, he called me he was being followed. We found him in the parking lot of the Beverly Connection."

"Dead?" Callen asked.

"No. Eric? Would you put up the video from the parking lot? LAPD sent it to my Skydrive." Eric nodded his head and turned to his computer. "According to the LAPD, the car just swiped him. Unfortunately, Neil has a bad neck injury and when he landed it snapped his neck around pretty good. He's now conscious and everything works fine except currently his legs are numb. That may or may not change with time." At this point Eric had the video running and they could all see what actually happened.

"This looks like a simple accident." Sam said.

Kensi shook her head and put her two cents in because of her forensic background, "Not as fast as they came around that corner. Eric, are there other angles to look at?"

"Not with what was sent to Deeks. I can request all the footage. Until that comes in, I can see what I can 'find' without a warrant. We might get something." He replied.

Kensi nodded her head indicating he should try. "Please replay it." Which Eric did as he began trying to find additional footage of the parking area. "Listen. You can hear the tires squeal as they took off from a stop. Eric." Eric played it a third time so everyone could hear what she had heard.

Callen turned his attention to the screen and did as Kensi said. He really listened as did everyone else. "She's right. That's not an accident. They were waiting for him."

"Unfortunately, the angle is wrong to get a license plate or any details on the car. You can't even tell a make or model." Sam also added. "Even if we could see the car enter, we can't tell which car it was."

"Actually we can. I'm the one that told Neil to go to the mall. It wasn't planned before he called me. They had to follow him in and wait for him to get out of his car. Eric can we get the video of the parking lot entrance?"

"Yep. That's part and parcel with what I've already requested from mall security. It will take some time." Eric answered him.

"Mr. Deeks? Anything else to add?" Hetty prompted.

"Yea, I'm going over to the hospital this afternoon. Jason is going to make Neil agree that Martin A. Deeks should be his lawyer of record. After all, Mr. Deeks is already Jason Wyler's attorney." Deeks smiled but Callen looked a question at him, "He's never met Marty Deeks. He only knows Jason Wyler. I'm going to call him now." He left ops to make the phone call.

Callen slid into 'Agent in charge' mode, "Nell, you keep after Jacoby, find out everything right down to boxers or briefs. Eric's on the parking lot footage and we are…"

"Doing your overdue paperwork, Mr. Callen." Hetty cut him. "Miss Blye's paperwork is done, shouldn't yours be as well?" Sam was chuckling at him, "I wouldn't be so quick to laugh Mr. Hanna. I'm missing several reports from you as well." Hetty turned and locked her gaze on him. "Gentleman." She pointed at the door.

With their heads slightly lowered, like chastised school boys, they left ops. Before she could follow her teammates out the door, Hetty caught Kensi's eye and wink at her. Kensi was hard pressed not to laugh out loud as she walked back to her desk.

She arrived just after Callen & Sam had tucked in and started to work. Callen suddenly stopped working and rested his hands on his desk. Turning to face her, "Why aren't you pissed at him? I mean he kept this from all of us for a long time. That's pretty big to keep from your partner. Why aren't you pissed?" Callen asked her.

She looked at him and smiled. He narrowed his eyes at her, "You knew. You knew? And you didn't tell us?" She just raised her eyebrows and tried to look innocent. "How long have you known?" Callen asked.

"He told meI've known longer than you." Was all she would say; she wasn't about to admit that he only told her yesterday.

"How do you like that Sam? He told her. She acted all worried and confused and the whole time, she knew." Callen grumped.

"Yea, G. She lied to us." Sam agreed with his partner having never looked up or stopped his work.

"I didn't lie. It was the truth…reimagined for…"

Callen cut her off, "…for the greater good. Don't pull that with us. There was no 'greater good'. You just plain lied."

She stood up and smiled at them "My paperwork is done," she gloated, "I'm going to go workout." She pushed her chair in and sauntered away.

Deeks was having a similarly troublesome conversation of his own, "Neil, this guy is my lawyer, has been for years. He's a good guy. Trust me."

"Jason, I got us into by trusting someone I just met. I'm not doing that again. I wanna meet the guy before I sign anymore contracts or deed or whatever."

Deeks sighed. "I'll see what I can do. See you soon."

"Later." And the call ended.

Great, one more problem to bring to Hetty. How was he supposed to be Marty Deeks and Jason Wyler at the same time? Deeks walked over to Hetty's desk, "Hetty I have yet another problem."

"Really Mr. Deeks? This is getting…What's the problem now?" Hetty asked a little exasperated with her Detective.

"Neil won't sign anything until he meets Marty Deeks. Do you want me to break cover and tell him?"

Hetty studied him for a moment, "Do you want to break cover Mr. Deeks?"

"No."

Hetty nodded her head in agreement. She was silent for a minute before she looked up and smiled. "I have an idea. Come with me Mr. Deeks." Hetty got up and walked over to the bullpen, "Mr. Callen? Wardrobe please. You need to change." Deeks was smiling a huge smile catching on to what Hetty had in mind.

Callen was confused but followed Hetty and Deeks to wardrobe. Hetty was already rifling through the men's suits. "Not to expense Hetty. Wyler is just a working class guy. He couldn't afford a really high priced lawyer."

Hetty nodded and pulled a simple navy blue suit off the rack and held it up to the front of Callen.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

Sam's head jerked up when he heard Callen practically yell, "Hetty, I'm not going to be Deeks!"


	11. Chapter 11

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Reading, reviewing, following & favoriting this story is a little present from you to me and I love you all for it. Thank you. What great people you all are for lending me your time for this story. ((HUGS))

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.

**8888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

"Oh Mr. Callen, really?!" Hetty was getting exasperated with her agents, all of them. "Mr. Polson won't let Mr. Deeks be his lawyer until he meets him. Obviously, that can't happen without breaking his cover so we need a body double. That's you. Now go change." She pushed the suit into his hands and pointed at the changing rooms not giving him any choice.

Callen actually sulked as he walked over to change. "This isn't right. I don't know how to be Deeks. What do I do? Talk all the time? Make lame jokes and drive everyone crazy?" He continued on this vein while he changed. "Do I have to learn to surf too?"

What he didn't know was that Hetty and Deeks had left him and headed back to her desk, "He does have a point Mr. Deeks. What if Mr. Polson asked personal questions? I think it would be a good idea if Mr. Callen had some background to study."

Deeks understood what Hetty was asking of him. She was asking permission to share his personal and personnel files with Callen. Deeks was unsure. He knew Callen needed some information about him to make the cover work but he really didn't want to share so much of himself with his teammate. "Can we limit it to my legal-life?" Deeks asked.

Hetty was a little sad. She knew that if Callen were to understand Deeks, he needed the background information. She wouldn't break Mr. Deeks' trust and just give Callen the files but she really wanted to. She hoped this was an opportunity to let the team leader read more about their liaison officer. Perhaps it was enough for now. Hetty nodded her head in agreement and as Deeks left to check on Callen, she started to put together a file for Callen to read.

"Callen? You ready?" Deeks called out. He didn't find him in wardrobe so he headed over to the bullpen where he heard Sam ribbing Callen.

"Hey, you know you're sitting at the wrong desk, DEEKS." Sam was laughing at him.

"No." Callen tried to make the word into every warning he could. Deeks quietly stood outside the bullpen to listen to the partners.

"Does this mean you have to wear a wig? You're not quite shaggy enough." Sam kept at him.

"Stop." Callen tried again.

"Just listening Mr. Deeks?" Hetty asked as she approached him from behind letting the men in the bullpen know that he was there.

Deeks smiled at Hetty as they stepped over to Callen's desk. "Mr. Callen, here is a file on Mr. Deeks' legal life. I suggest you study it." With that she turned around and left the men alone.

"Ready to go?" Deeks asked. Callen nodded his head and grabbed the file from the top of his desk. Deeks was not sure how he felt about Callen knowing even that much about him but it had to be done. "I'll drive, you read." They headed out to the car. Before they got in, Deeks opened the back door and pulled out a briefcase. He opened it up and showed Callen some paperwork. "This is what Neil needs to sign." Deeks handed it to him without looking at Callen or the paperwork. "Can't have you fumbling wondering what needed to signed. I do have a reputation to keep up, you know." He tried to lighten his own mood as he got in the driver's side and waited for Callen to get in the car.

Callen snorted at the comment as he glanced at the paperwork. Seeing what it was he put it back in the case, put the briefcase in the back seat and sat down next to Deeks. He started to read the file as Deeks drove them to the hospital.

Deeks was quiet as Callen read. Occasionally Callen would whistle or raise his eyes to Deeks in surprise and there was even a 'wow' as he read. When he finished the file, "Let's recap. You have a license to practice law in three states: California, New York and Maryland. As well as DC. Correct?" Deeks nodded his head in affirmative. "And you got the New York, Maryland and DC licenses because between the first & second years of law school you interned with a California Senator while he worked in DC. And between the second & third years you clerked for a New York Judge. So when you got out of law school and passed the bar exam in California, you decided to just get it in these other states for what? Shits and giggles?"

Deeks smiled, "In a way. The California senator wanted me to work for him as one of his private lawyers when I got out of school so I had to pass the California, Maryland and DC exams to do that I worked for him for about a year. I kept in touch for the Judge and he insisted I pass the New York bar. So, I studied and passed the exam."

"Well, damn Deeks. I don't know what to say." Callen was truly surprised at what he had learned about the younger man.

"That doesn't bode well for this op. According to you, I talk all the time." Deeks joked back to him.

Callen smiled at him. "It's the flirty jokes with Kensi and the surfing that worries me." Callen joked back. Callen asked the question he didn't know he wanted to the answer too until he actually asked the question, "Why did you give it up?"

Deeks knew what he was asking and decided to tell him the truth. "It wasn't for me; being a beltway lawyer. Can you see me sitting behind a desk and in a suit ALL DAY LONG? No. And the Judge died shortly after I passed the bar. He was the only reason I would've worked in New York. He was a great man. Honest, trustworthy, tough as nails and mean as hell. Unprepared lawyers were his major frustration. He would rip them the shreds. He didn't care if were at the top of your class or the bottom. Mistakes may have pissed him off, but he understood that happened. But coming into his courtroom without being prepared and organized would send him over the edge. He'd throw you out of court, not the case but the person." Deeks was remembering the old man with fondness. It was clear to Callen that Deeks cared about the man. Deeks came back to what he was originally saying. "In the end, I worked as a Public Defender for a few years but I wanted to do more. Help more."

"It says here you still help out at Legal Aid. How does that work with our schedule?"

"I review files and cases when I can or when they have something they can't figure out. They send me the file and I check it out, find out everything I can about the situation and send it back to them. Most of them know my name, I guess, but have no idea what I look like. Had to make that concession when I started to go undercover for LAPD and especially now. There is one person there that filters all the requests and then sends them to me."

Callen realized Deeks was dismissing the help he gives people. Deeks really just wanted to help as many people as possible and didn't care about credit. Callen was actually impressed by the man and that was something Callen never thought he would admit.

They arrived at the hospital and headed up to Neil's room. They found the room empty and checked with the Nurses Station. He just went to physical therapy. Instead of sitting in the waiting room, they headed down to the cafeteria for some coffee. They sat in silence until they both needed something to do. Deeks opened the briefcase to review the paperwork to make sure it was in order. Callen sat and re-read Deeks' file. Making sure he remembered the salient points in case he was asked about it.

Forty-five minutes later they were back in Neil's room trying to get him to sign the papers. "Neil, this is a good lawyer and a good guy. He's not going to screw you and he's been my lawyer for years. He's the one that looks over my contracts for fights before I sign them."

Neil was laying in his bed exhausted from therapy. They feeling had started to come back to his legs so he was really pushing himself to get better and out of the hospital. He was struggling to keep his eyes open but the not so subtle dig was not lost on him, "MAN! I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to get us into this mess."

Deeks took a deep breath, "I know that man and this guy can help us get out of it. But he can't work on your behalf unless you sign the papers." Deeks set the paperwork on the rolling table along with a pen, "sign it."

Callen listened to Deeks work what appeared to be magic on the man. Deeks was ready for every argument and countered them. Callen could tell that Deeks had been an exceptionally good lawyer. It didn't really take that long before Neil Polson became the latest client of Martin A. Deeks, Lawyer.

They were headed back to OSP when Callen asked a question that Deeks wasn't ready for, "Does Kensi know about what's in this file?"

Deeks was hesitant, "No. I haven't gotten around to telling her about that part of my life."

"Don't you think she should know about it? You are partners. Actually for being partners, you seem to have a lot of secrets you haven't shared with her." Callen was suddenly worried about the partnership.

"You share everything about your life, your past with Sam?" Deeks tried to deflect.

"Just about. I mean there are times I don't tell him something, but he always seems to find out anyway." Callen informed him.

Deeks didn't continue the conversation at first. "Does this mean you plan to tell Sam about what's in that file?"

Callen noticed that Deeks never once said 'about my past', he always said 'what's in that file'. Callen wondered what Nate would make of that. But the question, does he tell Sam or not was left hanging in the air for the rest of the drive back to the Mission.


	12. Chapter 12

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret; apparently he has many secrets.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

**A/N: FYI: **At this point I think we can easily say that we are somewhere in Season 4 and that Deeks has been with the team at least 3 years.

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.

**8888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

They arrived at the Mission just as Callen made a decision, "I'm not going to tell Sam if you don't want me to, though I think it would help him understand you better but that's your decision." Deeks nodded his head and was about to say something but Callen wasn't finished, "However, I definitely think you should tell Kensi. She's your partner and I honestly think she should know at least this part about your past." He held up the file to indicate what he was referring to.

Deeks had put the car in park and was resting his hands on the steering wheel, "I've thought about it. I really have but every time I think about telling her…it just seems…Look, I'll think some more about telling Kensi. I appreciate that you aren't going to tell Sam."

"Why don't you want Sam to know? This is really impressive stuff." Callen asked.

Deeks smiled at Callen's comment but hesitated a moment before asking a question of his own, "We're a team right?"

Callen nodded his head.

"Ok, so if we really are a team, why don't I know more about Sam's past or family life? I mean I know he was a Navy SEAL, he's married and has kids. That's it. Why does he need to know more about my past when apparently I don't need to know more about his? He's never opened up to me. So, he knows I've been a lawyer. He knows I'm a cop and that I shot my father when I was 11. Does he need to know about the rest of this file for us to be teammates?" Deeks asked his team leader.

Callen looked at him, "Ok, I see your point. Valid with regards to Sam. But _I_ know more about Sam's past because he's my partner and he knows as much about my past as I can tell him because I'm his partner. Kensi's _your_ partner and I think she should know more about your past even if you don't want Sam to know." Callen looked at Deeks to stress his point before he got out of the car and headed into OSP.

Deeks sat there a moment longer thinking about Callen's words and noticed that Callen had left the file on the passenger seat undoubtedly on purpose. He tapped the file with his fingers before he followed his team leader into the building also leaving the file in the car.

Deeks arrived just in time to hear Sam ask if all went well.

"Yea, it went well. Deeks was…Deeks was good. We got the signature." Callen responded.

Deeks smirked at the way Callen worded his comment and then continued his journey into OSP. Kensi was there within a few seconds of Deeks' arrival. She, of course couldn't let Callen off the hook. "The Deeks boys are back. Oh Sam, I hope you can tell which of them is the real Marty Deeks; I can't tell them apart anymore." Kensi laughed at her own joke. Callen glared at her; Sam smiled at her attempted humor and Deeks just rolled his eyes.

"Work on that one all afternoon, Kens?" Deeks asked. Her smile was quickly replaced with a glare directed at Deeks when Eric announced that they had additional information for the team. The four person team left the bullpen and headed for ops.

In the ops center, Nell started the briefing, "I've run Jacoby's photo through every database either of us could think of and with some incredible luck we got a hit on one photo from 35 years ago." She flashed the old photo on the plasma. "His real name is or rather was Bedrich Sklenar. He's Czechoslovakian or I suppose it's Slovakian now. Anyway, the photo was on the CIA database because he was an asset in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. Part of his payment was relocation to the States with a new identity. According to the CIA file, 40 years ago he was a low level black-marketeer which is why they used him. He was low enough not to draw attention from the mob-type bosses he worked for but high enough to get useful information on the Communists. He worked with the CIA for 10 years before being relocated here. When he got here, he fit right in with the growing population of Eastern European immigrants. In other words he just continued doing what he was doing in Europe: smuggler, loan shark, bookie, yadda yadda yadda. The CIA let it slide because he continued to get information for them through contacts he still had in Czechoslovakia and over here."

Eric added his information, "He owns a store selling Czech imports mostly some pretty amazing glasswork to exclusive high end designers but it's a front for his other activities. According to his financials he has a group of people who work for him. They're mostly recent Czech or Slovakian immigrants making way more money than their 'jobs' would normally get them. There are a few questionable transactions I'm running down."

"What kind of 'questionable transactions'? Guns? Drugs? What?" Sam asked.

Eric chuckled, "Nothing so big. I've been able to link him to several underground fights. _Fight Club _type stuff. Essentially he finds locations and fighters, sets the times and odds for each fight and then sits back and makes money on every fight. He also records the fights and sells them on the internet. He's amassed a small fortune over the last 5 years."

"So what does he want with Jason Wyler or MMA? It doesn't sound like he's a master criminal or anything special. He's just a regular criminal." Deeks was at a loss as to what was really going on as was everybody else. After a short silence, "Ok. Thanks for the work guys. I guess I'll go talk to LAPD, see what they can do. This sure doesn't involve NCIS." Deeks got up to leave not realizing that he was leaving stunned co-workers behind him.

"Excuse me?!" Kensi asked before he got to the door.

"What?" Deeks turned to look at her completely confused by the look on her face.

Sam just looked at him, "This involves you. That means it involves us, again." Sam shook his head. "Your personal life Deeks…" Sam shook his head in what Deeks hoped was a joking manner.

Deeks was stunned. He looked at Callen and saw one eye brow raised and the 'I told you so' look on Callen face. "Especially if this is supposed to be televised. It would blow all your covers and mess with the team." Callen reasoned.

"Um…yea, ok. Wow." Deeks sat back down still in shock at the support he was getting. He'd been with these people for a couple of years but he still occasionally forgot that with this group of people when they said they 'got your back', they actually meant it. Maybe telling Kensi was the right thing to do after all.

Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes trying to figure out what this guy, Jacoby, wanted with Wyler.

Callen had an idea, one he really didn't want to offer but one that might get them the information they needed. Kensi shifted her position which caught his eye. She is a beautiful woman and he tried to remember all the times she had put on a scrap of a dress and a pair of heels on an undercover op. How many times did she have to cozy up to scum to get information? Or hide a gun in a bikini? He took a deep breath and decided this idea wasn't actually all that bad; especially after learning some of Deeks' background this afternoon. He took another deep breath, "I have an idea."

He had their attention. "Deeks needs to talk to Jacoby."

"I can't. He's seen me. He congratulated me after the fight. To him, I'm Jason Wyyyyllleeeerrrrr…" Deeks slurred the last word as he caught on. "Oh, ok. I get it. You got a taste of what it's like to be me and can't get enough huh?"

Everyone was choking on their laughter except Callen who looked horrified. Deeks looked around, confused. Kensi helped him out, "Deeks, think about that last sentence and...?" Everyone in the room was smiling and watching as Deeks replayed what he said. He realized how it sounded and blushed a deep red which caused the others to start laughing all over again.

Before Deeks could try and dig himself out of it, Sam sobered up and asked, "You don't know anything about the law, G. How would you work that?"

"_I'm a federal law enforcement officer!_" Callan countered with emphasis.

"You don't know legalese." Sam shot back.

Eric supplied the answer, "Deeks can watch the meeting from ops; talk you through the lawyer speak if needed."

"Do it. I want this wrapped up as soon as possible." Hetty let them know as she walked out of ops. Everyone jumped a little because they hadn't realized their resident ninja had even enter ops.

Nell, acting as Mr. Deeks' assistant, called Jacoby and set up the meeting for the next day.

As the team was leaving ops, Deeks remembered something that he wanted an answer to, "Eric?" This stopped the entire team to see what was going on now. Eric looked at Deeks. "You said that the last fight didn't last long. How did you see the fight?"

"I…well… I was…" Eric looked up to see Callen & Sam watching him. He looked at them for support and hopefully a rescue but didn't receive either.

Callen looked at Sam and then they both turned their attention to Eric to see how he was going to get himself out this. Nell who had been standing by the plasma, realized what Eric had done. With death in her eyes she slowly approached the tech wizard. Eric looked at everything except the humans in the room as he tried to figure out how to get out it. Callen pulled his team out of the ops room before the carnage that was Nell was spilled on Eric.


	13. Chapter 13

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret or secrets.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

HUGS to all the readers of this story. This community of readers & writers is like a large neighborhood book club: Supportive and helpful. Thanks again.

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.

**888888888888888888888888888**

Deeks decided Callen was correct and Kensi should know about his past life at least his legal life. He didn't like Callen knowing more about him than his partner did. That evening was as good a time as any to let her read the file so while they were packing up for the night he asked, "Kens? Wanna get some food and come over tonight?"

"Um…Sure. Chinese?"

Deeks had a less than thrilled looked on his face at the prospect of yet another evening of Chinese take-out. Instead, "Can you get some Greek from that place near you? Meet me at my place in an hour? That'll give me time to take Monty for a walk."

"Ok. Spatikop…Spatako…Spat…Oh hell, that spinach stuff, gyros & salads?"

Deeks was laughing her, "You speak how many languages, why isn't Greek one of them?" She looked at him but decided to let it slide. "And you know me so well. Yes, the spinach stuff called spanokopita, a gyro & a salad would be great. Thank you." Deeks smiled at her as he finished packing for the night before they walked each other to their cars that were parked next to one another.

An hour later, Kensi was setting food out on the coffee table, checking over her shoulder as she snitched one of the stuffed grape leaves from Deeks' tray while Deeks grabbed a couple of beers from the 'fridge. He returned to the living room with two beers and a file folder.

"Kens? I have something I want you to read." He handed her a beer and the file.

"Ok, what is it?" She took both items from him. First she took a big sip of beer to prepare herself and then opened the file folder. She was a little surprised to see "Professional Background of MARTIN A. DEEKS" printed at the top of the first page.

"Your resume? You want me to read your resume?" She smirked. Then she had a horrid thought, "Are you looking for a new job? Why? I thought you liked working for NCIS and with us!" Kensi was in a near on full panic as she thought Deeks was going to be like so many other men and leave her.

Deeks would have heard the panic in her voice even if it wasn't clearly visible on her face. "Relax, Fern. I'm not looking for a new job. I just thought it was time you learned a few things about my "Professional" life. That's all. But if you don't want to…" He reached for the folder but she quickly moved it out of his reach.

"No, I'm going to read this. Eat your dinner but I'm eating your stuffed grape leaf," she said as she reached over and took the last one from his tray before he could pull the tray of food to safety.

He noticed that she had now snagged both stuffed grape leaves and he shook his head at her. "Really Kens? You get two with each order. If you wanted more of them why didn't you order extra?"

"'Cause I know they aren't your favorites and I love them." Kensi smugly answered. "Now hush." And for the next 15 minutes, Kensi submerged herself if his legal-life history. Like Callen earlier that day there were frequent whistles, wows and even a "Holy Crap!" uttered while she read.

Deeks tried to watched TV and eat while at the same time sneaking looks at her as she read, trying to judge her reactions. He was trying not to feel extremely exposed to his partner. In fact he didn't think he could feel more exposed to her if he was standing in front of her in his birthday suit.

Kensi finished the file and took a deep breath followed quickly by the rest of her beer. "This is a lot to take in. So, I'm going to ask: Why now? And why not before?"

"It was something Callen said to me. He had to read this file just in case and when he asked if you knew about what was in it I had to tell him no. In fact he went so far as to say I had a lot of secrets from you." Deeks stuttered for a second before continuing, "I just never thought any of this was revalent to the work we're doing now. But I didn't want Callen knowing more about me than you did." Deeks paused again. "I think I'm ready to have you know about it because we are partners…and friends."

Kensi was touched by his confession. "Well damn, Deeks. I know where I'll go if I ever need a lawyer." Kensi smiled at him to let him know he was correct in showing her his file; right before hitting him over the head with the file folder. "I thought I told you no more secrets!" She glared at him in mock annoyance before stealing a piece of food from his tray.

When she stole food from him, he knew they were good but he still didn't agree to her statement about no more secrets.

**8888888888888888888888888888888**

The next morning Callen was sitting in a typical conference room in an almost rundown office building. He was wondering what he was doing in an office building when the man owned an import store across town. Actually Callen was trying to think about anything except what was happening in ops. He could hear Deeks and Eric getting into a heated discussion about the waves at different surfing points up and down the coast while they waited for the meeting to begin. He wanted to tell them both to shut up but at that point Jacoby arrived and he didn't arrive alone. A man followed behind him which was an obvious 'muscle' type.

"Mr. Deeks. Nice to meet you." Jacoby said sticking his hand out for a shake.

Callen clasped the man's hand while saying. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you as well. I appreciate you taking this meeting so quickly. I would like to have this matter cleared up quickly."

"What matter is that?" Jacoby asked while he seated himself across the table from Callen.

Callen sat back down and purposely looked confused, "I thought my assistant explained the purpose of the meeting. My client, Jason Wyler, did not authorize Mr. Polson to sign anything on his behalf. Therefore this contract" Callen pulled the contract out of his briefcase and placed it on the table, "is null and void. Yet I understand that you were not happy with Mr. Polson when he approached you to rectify the situation." Callen had channeled every lawyer he had ever seen at work to make this little speech. He hoped he pulled it off.

"Yes. I was not happy. This is a signed contract. It must be honored." Jacoby stated back.

"But it's not valid. Again, Mr. Polson was not and is not authorized to sign any contract on behalf of Mr. Wyler."

"That is Mr. Polson's problem. Not mine. I suggest you talk to him about it." Jacoby sat back and smugly smiled at Callen, assuming he had won.

"I have talked with Mr. Polson since he is also a client of mine. He realizes his mistake and he's very sorry…"

Jacoby interrupted him by holding up a finger when his cell phone rang. "Sorry, just a minute please. I must take this call."

Callen shot the man an annoyed look but nodded his approval. He pretended to read the contract but he was in fact listening to the conversation that was taking place right in front of him; happily the conversation was in Czech.

Callen heard only Jacoby's side of the conversation, "I understand the time constraints but you have to understand that I've never promoted this type of fight before. Promoting an underground fight is simple. This is…" He was cut off and listened to the person on the other end of the call. "I'm trying but I'm having trouble getting one of the fighters to agree. His lawyer is sitting here with me right now telling me the contract is not valid."

Callen glanced up and took in Jacoby's face with a single quick glance. Jacoby was getting very red with anger, "don't threaten me," Jacoby tried to bluster. Callen could tell that whoever he was talking to was getting the better of him. "You can't promote a fight that fast. The TV rights, the…" again a pause, "You might be used to working this fast but it can't be done…" Callen watched the man deflate slightly. Jacoby caught Callen watching him and covered his feelings quickly. "Fine! I will do whatever I can to make this happen. But you are making it damn near impossible." He ended his conversation, stood up from the table and walked over to his 'muscle'. He was looking at 'muscles' but tilted his head at Callen. Mr. Muscles pulled a gun out and pointed it at Callen.

Callen was expecting this and made the appropriate frightened response to having a gun pointed at him. Everyone else in ops was more than a little surprised because they hadn't understood the conversation.

Callen stuttered, "What's going on? I'm..I'm…"

"Your client will do this fight and he will do it in 6 weeks not 3 months." Jacoby told him.

Callen allowed a measure of backbone to creep back into his voice, "That's not going to happen. Even if the contract was valid, which it is NOT, there is no way he can be ready for another fight in 6 weeks. His trainer is in the hospital from a car accident and he can't walk!"

"Ready or not he will do the fight or you both will be very sorry for it. This fight _must_ happen and it _will_ happen in 6 weeks."

Callen could detect the nerves in the man. If this threat against Wyler didn't work, what would he try next to make the fight happen? Callen continued to shift his gaze between the gun & Jacoby and decided to test Jacoby's resolve regarding Wyler. "Why don't you find yourself a different fighter? Mr. Wyler doesn't really want to fight; this man in particular. I think he might be a little afraid of him. Besides, I'm sure there are people more deserving of such a fight than Mr. Wyler. His record isn't _that_ good." Callen could hear Deeks sputtering and exclaiming in his ear, but Callen ignored him for now.

Jacoby leaned on the table in a classic intimidation tactic, "Mr. Deeks, I don't think your presence is required for this fight, so if you were to say, 'go on vacation' for a very long time where no one could reach you, what could anybody do about it?"

That's the threat Callen had been waiting for. He made the color drain out of his face just slightly and widened his eyes in fear. "I will talk with Mr. Wyler and get back to you." He quickly gathered the contract and put it back in his briefcase. "I expect you to send over the new contract before the end of the week with the date change indicated. I will talk about it with my clients." He placed a business card which listed an address and phone number of a dumby law firm on the table and hurried out of the building.

When Callen was out of the building, "How'd I do Deeks?" Callen asked with a smirk on his face.

"You made both of me look like a coward. But as a lawyer, you…well you suck, a lot." Deeks deadpanned.

Callen just laughed as he headed back to the Mission.


	14. Chapter 14

Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.

Over 100 Follows! I've never had that many follows for a story before! Thank you so much! I'm honored and shocked and humbled! Thank You!

Thanks Bea for your help.

Reviews are a writer's coffee, they keep us going.

**888888888888888888888888888**

When Callen arrived at the Mission he assembled the team in the bullpen.

"What'cha got, Callen? What was the conversation?" Sam asked him.

"He's being pressured to put on the fight. He's never promoted a legit MMA fight and he's afraid of something or someone. Everything he's done has been old school intimidation techniques. Like he's trying to make this happen the only way he knows how. Eric, can you trace the call that came in to his cell?"

"I tried. It's a very blocked number, but I will get it given some time." Eric responded. "I got the footage from the parking area of the Beverly Connection. The plates on the car that swiped Polson were removed and the lighting wasn't good enough to get a Kaleidoscope search going; even checking the surrounding traffic cams there was nothing usable."

"Ok." Callen was a little disappointed. If they could have found the car, they might have been able to arrest the person and stop this mess before it got any bigger. "Nell, anything new on Jacoby's past?" Callen asked.

"No. I'm still getting blocked by the CIA. Oh, but Polson's past has turned up exactly nothing. He's clean."

"At least we know we can eliminate him from suspicion." Callen shook his head, "Why would the CIA block you from getting information on an asset that was used 40 year ago?" Callen couldn't figure out that part.

Nell shrugged. "I'm keeping at them. Like Eric, I'll get the info with a little more time." Nell said with confidence.

"That's sucks and all but you know what sucks even more? I might have to fight someone in 6 weeks who's a pro and I don't have a trainer. Which means, I'm screwed. Thanks for that Callen." Deeks interjected. "I don't even have a license to fight as a pro."

Callen stared at him for a moment wondering if Deeks really did forget who he worked for, "Eric, can you do something about a license for him?" Eric just smirked before he started to type into his tablet. Callen was still staring at Deeks, "As for a trainer, well I guess you need a new one."

Sam was smiling at what Callen was thinking. "Wyler, you ready to get to work?" Sam asked Deeks.

"What?! NO! Sam?! You gotta be kidding me! He's not a trainer." Deeks stated to Callen. Callen just continued to stare at him. Seeing the look on Callen's face, Deeks resigned himself to his fate. He looked at Sam and immediately saw the error of his words in Sam's annoyed eyes, "Now I really am screwed." Deeks sighed realizing his mouth just made his fate worse.

"Not Sam," Callen corrected, "DeMarco Williams."

Deeks tried not to look as defeated as he felt; unfortunately when he looked around at his co-workers' faces and saw they were all smiling at his misery, he realized he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it. "Damn, I really wanted fries and fish tacos."

The whole team just laughed at him or with him depending on who was laughing. "Suck it up, Wyler, it won't be forever." Sam tried to help him.

"Yea yea. I know. At least we can train here right? Don't have to go to the gym?"

"Yes and No. Our morning training sessions can happen here, but for the evening training sessions you have to be visible; in case they're watching you."

"If they are, we should probably have someone else there to watch both your backs." Hetty supplied from the side where she was standing, just listening to her agents. Everyone jumped just a little as she spoke but she just looked at Kensi. "Perhaps an old flame?" Hetty smiled.

Deeks was grinning from ear to ear because Kensi would be playing his girlfriend again. Kensi smiled at Hetty with a slightly fake smile until "Ah, Sugar Bear, don't be sad, you know you love being my girlfriend." Deeks egged her. She turned her eyes to Deeks, the smile was replaced with a grimace as she glared at him. Before Kensi could come up with a quip back at Deeks, Sam's words finally sunk into Deeks brain, "Wait a minute. TWO training sessions a day?!"

"6 weeks instead of 12. Gotta double up on the work outs to get ready, just in case." Sam told him, smiling like that cat from _Alice in Wonderland_.

"GOD! I can feel it already; I'm a dead man."

**888888888888888888888888888**

By the end of the week, Deeks was looking over the new contract with the date change indicated. He did notice that it was no longer going to televised but it was going to be broadcast on the internet and recorded so DVDs could be sold. _Always finding ways to make money, huh Jacoby? _Deeks thought.

When he got to the last page he was surprised because it already contained the signatures of the other fighter and his manager. Deeks was wondering what Jacoby had to do to get the other fighter to agree to the date change and to sign so quickly. As he was reading the contract it occurred to him that with the date change, the original contract was not valid and if he didn't sign this one, there wouldn't be a fight. Before he signed or didn't sign it, he decided he wanted to talk to the team first.

The next morning he brought the subject up to the team, including Nell, Eric and Hetty. He explained the legal side of the contract issue as well as the fact it won't be televised but still broadcast on the internet and asked them if they wanted to continue with this 'operation' or not.

It was Nell who spoke up first, "I think that if you don't continue with this fight, Polson's life and Wyler's life are in danger. They've already shown that they'll do just about anything to make sure this fight goes on."

Deeks looked to Callen for his input. Callen answered, "It's up to you, but I agree with Nell. I don't think they will stop just because you don't sign it. The other contract wasn't valid and that didn't stop them."

Deeks nodded his head in understanding. "Hetty? What do you think?" Deeks asked her.

"I think this is a decision only you can make don't you? But know this Mr. Deeks, we will support your decision whatever it is."

Deeks was still occasionally flabbergasted at the support of these people, these friends. He looked at Kensi and could read her support written on her face. She didn't need to say anything out loud.

Sam added his thoughts, "By signing that," he pointed to the contract sitting on Deeks' desk, "you're saying you're doing the fight. That means you're going to train and train hard. I'm not going to go easy on you. You have a lot of work to do to get ready for it."

"That, right there, Sam, is the main reason I'm thinking about not doing it. I might be safer taking my chances with Jacoby." Deeks smiled at Sam and then signed the contract.

He handed the contract to Callen. Callen looked confused at him, "It needs my manager's signature. I think my lawyer, Martin A. Deeks, would qualify and since I can't sign both places, you get to." Callen picked up a pen and signed _Martin A. Deeks_ on the line for manager.

**888888888888888888888888888888**

Before his first training session with DeMarco Williams, Jason Wyler paid a visit to Neil. He explained that he had decided to train for the fight even as their lawyer worked to get him out of it. "It's just until you get well enough to get out of here." Deeks explained to Neil.

"I get it. I really do. My trainer left me that last time I was in the hospital. I got us into this mess, I don't blame you for finding a different trainer." Neil was really feeling dejected about losing Wyler as a fighter.

"Hey, it's only temporary. You get out of here and we get back to work. I'm not staying with this new guy. If we can't get out of this fight, which by the way was moved up from 3 months to 6 weeks, I need a trainer. You know that." Neil's expression didn't change. "Look, I have go but I'll be back in a couple of days. Get better and soon. This new guy is probably going to beat me worse than you did." Deeks joked at him but the joke missed its mark. Deeks sighed and left.

He came back two days later with Sam/DeMarco in tow. It was actually Sam's idea to meet Polson and talk with him about how he had been training Wyler and what insights Polson could give him on Wyler as a fighter and the fighter they would be facing. Sam decided that with only 6 weeks until the fight, he would take advantage of every resource he could get his hands on to train his new fighter.

Polson was surprised to meet Williams, "Isn't this the guy who handed you your last loss?" Polson asked.

Deeks gave a slight chuckle before answering, "Yep. When he heard that you were hurt and that I had a big fight coming up, he said he would step in, temporarily."

Sam's conversation with Polson did wonders for Neil's spirits and Sam's confidence in Deeks' ability to not just survive the fight but to make this fight a win.

The next 2 weeks were as torturous for Deeks as the 6 weeks prior his last fight were when they were combined together. The morning sessions were tough enough but at least they were in the OSP gym. The evening sessions were hard and incredibility exhausting which was bad enough but they also included Kensi, posing as his girlfriend Tracy, recording everything on camera. She was ostensibly there to record each training session but what she was really doing was watching their backs and recording everyone who was at the gym so Eric & Nell could run background checks on each of them.

Sam was relentless in his training. He used some of what Polson was doing and also implemented a lot of his own training techniques. He included several different types of Martial Arts and SEAL methods of fight training. He tailored the training to maximize Deeks' skillset in the limited time frame. He was pleased with Deeks' work, work ethic and progress. Deeks' new mantra fort training with Sam was 'This isn't going to last forever'.

One morning Callen came in late and before sitting down, grabbing coffee or even saying 'good morning' to anyone, he dropped a thick stack of files on Deeks' desk.

Deeks was shocked 'Well, good morning to you too Mr. Happy Guy. What's all this?"

"These were sent to the law office of Martin A. Deeks." Callen nodded a greeting to his partner and Kensi as he spoke.

Deeks was surprised and opened the first one. When he realized they were all files from Legal Aide, he groaned. "Apparently Eric's and Nell's backstopping is too good. These shouldn't have come the dumby firm but stayed where they're usually sent. At least I know why I haven't gotten any in a while."

"What are they Deeks?" Kensi asked.

"Um, just some legal files that I need to read," he hedged. He looked through them, checking the court dates. "Damn, I need to get on these. Sam, I can't work out tonight. I really have to get to some of these; the first three I've looked at have court dates before the end of this week. How am I going to get through all these?" He was talking mostly to himself and hadn't really realized that the team was listening to him.

Sam was going to protest about the missed work out but Callen caught his eye and indicted he should let it go. "Fine, but expect extra hard work outs tomorrow to make up for it."

"That's fine. Whatever you want." Deeks was so engrossed in the file he was reading that he hadn't paid attention to what Sam said.

"Deeks? You want some help with those? I don't know what I could help with but I can read a case file as well as some and better than most." Kensi volunteered.

That did get Deeks attention, "You'd do that? Sit around and read files?"

"Well, you have to feed me." Kensi smiled back.

"My pleasure." Deeks smiled back to her before turning his attention back to the file he had been reading.


End file.
